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THE  SOCIAL  EVIL 

V^ITH  SPECIAL  REFERENCE  TO  CONDITIONS 
EXISTING  IN  THE  CITY  OF  NEW  YORK 


A REPORT  PREPARED  UNDER  THE  DIRECTION  OF 
THE  COMMITTEE  OF  FIFTEEN 


/ 3 ^ 

G.  P.  PUTNAM’S  SONS 

NEW  YORK  AND  LONDON 
Zbe  finiciterbociter  press 

1902 


COPVRIGHT*  1902 
BY 

G.  P.  PUTNAM’S  SONS 


Set  up,  electrotyped,  and  printed  February,  1902. 
Reprinted  March,  1902 ; April,  1902. 


Ube  Uinicftecbocher  ipcess,  l^evp  l^orb 


//  - ^ 


/' 


J 


MEMBERS  OF  THE  COMMITTEE 


OF  FIFTEEN 

William  H.  Baldwin,  Jr.,  Chairman, 
Felix  Adler, 

Joel  B.  Erhardt, 

Austen  G.  Fox, 

John  S.  Kennedy, 

William  J.  O’Brien, 

Alexander  E.  Orr, 

George  Foster  Peabody, 

George  Haven  Putnam, 

J.  Harsen  Rhoades, 

Jacob  H.  Schiff, 

Andrew  J.  Smith, 

Charles  Sprague  Smith, 

Charles  Stewart  Smith. 

Edwin  R.  A.  Seligman,  Secretary. 


Ill 


PREFACE 


In  the  fall  of  1900,  the  city  of  New  York 
was  startled  by  discoveries  in  regard  to  the 
spread  of  the  Social  Evil  in  certain  districts, 
and  as  to  the  extent  of  flagrant  offences  against 
public  morality  and  common  decency.  A meet- 
ing of  citizens  was  held  at  the  Chamber  of 
Commerce  in  November,  as  a result  of  which 
the  Committee  of  Fifteen  was  called  into  ex- 
istence. The  objects  which  the  Committee  of 
Fifteen  undertook  to  accomplish  were  there- 
upon stated  as  follows : 

(1)  To  institute  a searching  inquiry,  unin- 
fluenced by  partisan  considerations,  into  the 
causes  of  the  present  alarming  increase  of 
gambling  and  the  Social  Evil  in  this  city,  and 
to  collect  such  evidence  as  shall  establish  the 
connection  between  existing  conditions  and 
those  who,  in  the  last  analysis,  are  responsible 
for  these  conditions. 

(2)  To  publish  the  results  of  such  investiga- 
tions in  order  to  put  our  fellow-citizens  in  pos- 


VI 


Preface 


session  of  facts,  and  to  enable  them  to  adopt 
such  corrective  measures  as  may  be  needed. 

(3)  To  promote  such  legislation  as  shall 
render  it  less  difficult  to  reach  offenders,  and 
as  shall  put  an  end  to  the  shifting  and  division 
of  responsibility  in  the  local  administration  of 
the  laws  relating  to  vice  and  crime,  to  the  end 
that  public  officers  and  their  subordinates  may 
be  held  to  a strict  accountability  for  their  acts. 

(4)  To  suggest  and  promote  the  provision 
of  more  wholesome  conditions  and  surround- 
ings, in  order  to  lessen  the  allurements  and 
incentives  to  vice  and  crime. 

During  the  winter  and  spring  of  1901  the 
Committee  devoted  its  attention  chiefly  to  the 
first  object.  Its  corps  of  investigators  collected 
a mass  of  information  and  evidence,  a part  of 
which  was  utilized  in  bringing  some  of  the 
offenders  to  justice,  and  in  exposing  the  no- 
torious “ cadet”  system.  The  Committee  also 
co-operated  with  the  framers  of  the  new  Tene- 
ment House  Bill  in  securing  its  enactment  into 
law.  As  a result  of  this  law  and  of  the  facts 
collected  by  the  Committee,  it  became  possible 
to  take  measures  for  the  eradication  of  prosti- 
tution from  the  tenement  houses. 


Preface  vii 

The  overthrow  of  the  control  of  the  munici- 
pal administration  by  Tammany  Hall  and  the 
success  of  the  Reform  movement  in  the  muni- 
cipal campaign  of  1901  (a  campaign  in  which 
the  information  supplied  by  the  Committee  of 
Fifteen  constituted  a very  important  factor) 
rendered  it  possible  for  the  Committee  to 
abandon  any  further  work  of  a police  nature 
or  having  to  do  with  the  supervision  of  public 
morals. 

The  third  object  of  the  Committee,  however, 
was  to  promote  satisfactory  legislation  on  the 
subject  of  the  Social  Evil.  In  order  to  make 
intelligent  preparation  for  its  recommenda- 
tions, a sub-committee  was  appointed  to  make 
a study  of  the  history  of  regulation  and  its  ap- 
plication to  present  conditions  in  New  York. 
The  sub-committee  was  fortunate  in  securing 
for  this  work  the  services  of  Mr.  Alvin  S. 
Johnson,  at  the  time  University  Fellow  in 
Economics  at  Columbia  University,  a'nd  now 
Instructor  in  Economics  at  Bryn-Mawr  Col- 
lege. The  investigation  contained  in  Part  I. 
is  almost  entirely  the  work  of  Mr.  Johnson,  to 
whom  the  thanks  of  the  Committee  are  due. 
It  is  believed  not  only  that  the  report  consti- 
tutes a valuable  scientific  contribution  to  the 


Preface 


viii 

subject,  but  that  in  no  other  publication  can 
there  be  found  so  comprehensive  or  so  clear  a 
statement  of  the  problems  involved.  Certain 
features  of  the  Raines  Law  are  so  intimately 
connected  with  the  existence  of  prostitution  in 
New  York  that  it  has  been  deemed  wise  to 
include  in  the  appendix  an  account  of  that  law. 

The  conclusions  and  recommendations  of 
the  Committee  itself  are  found  in  Part  II. 
The  appendix  to  this  part  contains  a summary 
of  the  operations  of  the  Committee  with  special 
relation  to  the  “cadet”  system  and  to  the  ex- 
istence of  the  Social  Evil  in  tenement  houses. 


New  York,  January  2,  1902. 


CONTENTS 


PART  I 

CHAPTER  I 

PAGB 

The  Problem  of  Prostitution  . . . . i 

Universality  of  the  social  evil,  i — Variations  in  the  volume 
of  vice,  3 — Characteristics  of  prostitution  in  ancient, 
mediaeval,  and  modern  times,  5 — Causes  of  prostitu- 
tion, 7 — City  life  as  stimulating  masculine  vice,  8 — 
Characteristics  of  the  feminine  factor  in  vice,  10 

CHAPTER  II 

Regulation  — Ancient,  Medieval,  and  Mod- 
ern .........  13 

Aims  of  ancient  regulation,  13 — Masculine  impurity  over- 
looked, 14 — Free  women  of  loose  morals  assimilated 
to  slave  class,  15 — Mediaeval  policy  originally  repres- 
sive, 17 — Ends  of  mediaeval  regulation,  18 — Role  of 
prostitute  in  social  life  of  Middle  Ages,  19 — Break- 
down of  mediaeval  regulation,  22 — Modern  regulation 
entirely  distinct  from  mediaeval,  22 — Prominence  of 
sanitary  feature,  24 

CHAPTER  HI 

Regulation  of  Prostitution  in  Paris  . . 25 

Germ  of  discretionary  power  of  police,  26 — First  treatment 
of  imprisoned  prostitutes,  26 — Treatment  preliminary 
to  imprisonment,  27 — Origin  of  idea  of  registration, 

28 — Preventive  inspection,  29 — Collection  of  fees  from 


IX 


X Contents 

PAGE 

prostitutes  ; abuses,  30 — Plan  of  confining  vice  to  li- 
censed houses,  30 — Abolition  of  fees,  31 — Registration 
of  minors,  31 — Present  system,  32 — Morals  service, 

33 — Medical  service,  33 — Legal  basis,  34 

CHAPTER  IV 

Regulation  in  Berlin  and  in  Other  Cities  of 

Europe 37 

Breakdown  of  mediaeval  regulation  in  Berlin,  37 — Regula- 
tions of  1700,  38 — Growth  of  vice  in  the  eighteenth 
century,  39 — Regulations  of  1792,  40 — Principle  of 
responsibility,  40— Penalty  upon  transmission  of  dis- 
ease, 41 — Periodic  examinations,  41 — Taxation,  42 — 
Hostility  to  regulation,  43 — Attempt  to  localize  vice, 

45 — Closing  of  licensed  houses,  48 — Existing  regula- 
tions, 50— Essential  similarity  of  systems  of  Paris  and 
Berlin,  51 — Segregation  in  Bremen,  54 — Morals  service 
in  Vienna,  55 — Extent  of  sanitary  regulation,  56 

CHAPTER  V 

The  Sanitary  Aspect  of  Modern  Regulation  . 58 

Difficulty  of  ascertaining  extent  of  venereal  disease,  58 — 
Reporting  of  disease  in  Norway,  59 — Disease  in  Euro- 
pean armies,  62 — Serious  nature  of  burden  upon  society, 

63 — Disease  common  to  all  ranks,  65 — To  regard  dis- 
ease as  a just  penalty  for  vice  a narrow  view,  65 — Youth 
of  many  who  are  contaminated,  66 — Innocent  victims, 

67 

CHAPTER  VI 

The  Moral  Aspect  of  Regulation  ...  69 

Vice  a greater  evil  than  disease,  69 — Need  of  social  action 
against  vice,  70 — Possibility  of  amelioration,  71 — Pro- 
tection of  children,  72 — Poverty  and  vice,  73 — Restora- 
tion of  fallen  women  to  honorable  life,  74 


Contents 


XI 


CHAPTER  VII 

Fundamental  Opposition  between  Moral  and 

Sanitary  Control 76 

Friction  between  morals  and  sanitary  service,  76 — Essential 
features  of  sanitary  control,  77 — Complexity  of  modern 
vice,  80 — Temporary  prostitution,  80 — Registration  a 
deterrent  to  reform,  81 — Registration  of  minors  inad- 
missible, 83 — State  control  as  encouragement  to  vice, 

85 — Regulation  as  a handicap  in  the  effecting  of  moral 
reform,  86 — Regulation  a violation  of  the  best  public 
sentiment,  90— Encroachment  upon  individual  liberty, 

91 

CHAPTER  VHI 

Practical  Difficulties  in  the  Regulation  of 

Prostitution 93 

A great  part  of  prostitution  cannot  be  subjected  to  control, 

93 — Minors,  94 — Clandestine  prostitutes,  94  — Diffi- 
culty in  compelling  submission,  95  — Percentage  of 
prostitution  actually  controlled  in  European  cities,  98 — 

The  part  subjected  not  really  the  most  dangerous, 

99— Subjected  prostitutes  not  rendered  innocuous,  104 
—Imperfection  of  present  method  of  inspection,  105 — 
Expensiveness  of  efficient  system,  106 — Impossibility 
of  self-sustaining  morals  service,  107 — Evasion  on  part 
of  diseased,  109 — Insufficiency  of  treatment,  in — 
Mediate  contagion,  113 — Amelioration  only  temporary 
at  best,  1 14 

CHAPTER  IX 

The  Actual  Effectiveness  of  Sanitary  Con- 
trol   1 16 

Worthlessness  of  comparisons  of  morbidity  between  different 
cities,  117 — Imperfections  of  venereal  statistics,  118 — 
Spontaneous  fluctuations  in  disease,  1 19 — Statistics  for 
England  for  period  of  Contagious  Diseases  Acts,  120— 


XU 


Contents 


Criticism,  i2i — Danger  of  applying  results  of  small 
cities  to  facts  of  large  ones,  123 — Norwegian  statistics, 
124 — Italian  regulations,  127 — Dorpat,  128 — St.  Louis, 
129  — Modern  tendency  to  discard  statistics,  130  — 
Common  sense,  131 — Opinions  of  modern  authorities, 

133 


CHAPTER  X 


Probable  Effectiveness  of  Regulation  in 

New  York  .......  135 

Legal  considerations,  135  — Prostitution  a status,  136;  a 
special  trade,  137  — Difficulty  of  establishing  fact  of 
prostitution,  138 — Control  of  prostitution  compared 
with  measures  for  checking  contagious  diseases,  138 — 
Penalizing  of  debauch  as  basis  of  control,  139 — Diffi- 
culty of  coping  with  clandestine  prostitution  in  New 
York,  140 — Impossibility  of  keeping  suspected  part  of 
population  under  surveillance,  141 — Migration  as  an 
additional  difficulty  in  control,  142 


CHAPTER  XI 

Moral  Regulation  of  Vice  ....  145 

Repression  and  reglementation  not  essentially  hostile,  145 — 
Possibility  of  a system  embodying  common  elements, 

146— Preservation  of  public  decency,  147 — Dissociation 
of  vice  and  legitimate  pleasures,  14S  — Control  in 
brothels,  149 — Children  to  be  freed  from  contact  with 
vice,  150 — Housing  conditions,  151 — Education,  152 — 
Prostitution  of  minors,  153 — Necessity  of  free  treat- 
ment for  venereal  disease,  154 — Infection  of  innocent 
persons,  156 — Administration,  157 

APPENDIX 

The  Raines  Law  Hotel  and  the  Social  Evil  . 159 


Contents 


PART  II 

Recommendations  of  the  Committee 

APPENDIX 

Present  Conditions  in  New  York  . 


xiii 

PAGB 

171 


181 


PART  I. 


THE  SOCIAL  EVIL 


CHAPTER  I 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  PROSTITUTION 

Prostitutions^  a phenomenon  coextensive 
with  civilized  society.  Barbarous  and  semi- 
barbardus  pimples  have  at  times^been  free 
from  it.  The  ancienf'Gerrfians,  we  are  tojd,' 
tolerated  no  prostitution  inNfGir  midst ; and 
there  are  sa^tb^be  Siberian  and^ African  tribes 
to-day  of  which  the  same  thing  is  true.  But 
ho  sooner  has^  phople  attained_-a_nioderate 
degree  oTcivilization  than  this  social  cursNias' 
^AialTen  uponj^  ! noi"  bas  any  race  reached  a point 


of  moral  elevatioh^Bel^thiNQniiLnfAdi¥^s 
' — disappeared. 

r The  most  venerable  traditions,  the  most 
ancient  records  all  bear  testimony  to  the  an- 
tiquity of  prostitution.  Even  a careless  reader 
of  Scripture  knows  how  constantly  it  beset  the 
ancient  Hebrews,  and  how  vain  were  the  efforts 


2 


The  Social  Evil 


of  sages  and  lawgivers  to  stamp  it  out.  Nur- 
tured by  a vicious  religion,  it  flourished 
throughout  Asia  Minor  ; and  when  civilization 
moved  westward  to  Greece  and  Rome,  pros- 
titution followed  as  its  shadow.  The  rise  of 
the  mediaeval  cities  in  Western  Europe  was 
marked  by  the  introduction  of  the  brothel. 
The  great  development  of  trade  and  commerce 
that  ushered  in  modern  times  was  also  re- 
sponsible for  the  universalizing  of  “ the  social 
evil.” 

/ Glancing  at  present  conditions,  we  find  that 
I no  important  nation  is  free  from  the  taint. 
/ The  great  cities  of  the  world  vie  with  each 
other  in  the  vast  numbers  of  those  who  gain 
their  living  by  immorality.  Nor  is  there 
reason  to  think  that  this  condition  is  transitory. 
He  would  be  an  optimist  indeed  who  could  be- 
lieve that  a time  will  come  when  the  problem 
of  prostitution  shall  cease  to  be  important. 
Like  the  pauper,  the  prostitute  is  a creature 
of^.xbdligatiQn,  and,  like  the  pauper,  will  con- 
I tmue  to  thrust  her  undesirable  presence  upon 
\society. 

('"~TKeTact  that  prostitution  is  practically  uni- 
versal has  impressed  itself  strongly  upon  the 
numerous  writers  who  have  dealt  with  the  sub- 


The  Problem  of  Prostitution 


3 


ject.  The  inference  has  frequently  been  drawn 
that  all  efforts  to  suppress  or  restrict  vice  must 
be  vain,  and  that  the  only  rational  course  to 
pursue  is  to  recognize  its  existence  and  to 
minimize  its  attendant  dangers.  There  have 
been  authorities  who  held  the  view  that  vice  is 
an  essential  element  in  society,  hence  ineradi- 
cable. Others  have  gone  so  far  as  to  affirm 
that  what  is  best  and  purest  in  civilization  could 
not  have  existed  but  for  the  sacrifice  of  a por- 
tion of  womankind  to  immorality.^  Tim  saner 
authorities,  however,  content  themselves  with 
stating  that  vice  is  the  inevitaH^  result  ^f 
causes  "^hich  sU^ciety  hag~iT^e~r  yet  been  able 
to  control. 


Y'  It  is  frequently  said  that  vice  is  a constant 
'^and  invariable  element  in  social  life.  This  is, 
however,  obviously  untrue.  So  far  as  one  can 
judge  from  the  fragmentary  history  of  morality, 
periods  of  gross  licentiousness  have  alternated 
with  periods  of  comparative  decency.  The 
degrading  influence  that  intercourse  with  a 
lascivious  nation  has  exercised  upon  a people 
of  comparatively  pure  morals  is  well  known  to 
every  student  of  history.  The  Romans  were 


’ Lecky,  History  of  European  Morals,  ii.,  299. 

Hiigel,  Zur  Geschichie,  Statistik  und  Regelung  der  Prostitution,  76. 


4 


The  Social  Evil 


' disciples  of  the  Greeks  in  immorality  as  well  as 
I in  arts  and  sciences.  The  renewal  of  inter- 
; course  with  the  East  that  followed  the  Cru- 
sades was  attended  by  a serious  deterioration 
of  European  morals.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
spread  of  Christianity,  the  Reformation,  and 
the  rise  of  chivalry,  it  is  generally  admitted, 
brought  about  a decided  improvement  in  the 
^moral  tone  of  Europe. 

Social  and  economic  changes  have  frequently 
been  marked  by  an  increase  or  a diminution 
in  vice.  A prolonged  war,  more  especially  if 
it  be  a civil  war,  has  generally  resulted  in  an 
exaggeration  of  this  evil.  The  Thirty  Years’ 
War  and  the  French  Revolution  are  notorious 
1 in  this  respect.  Even  minor  phenomena,  such 
\ as  commercial  disturbances,  are  not  without  a 
\jiemonstrable  effect  upon  the  volume  of  vice. 

That  vice  is  a varying  phenomenon,  bearing 
/no  constant  relation  to  population,  is  evident  to 
anyone  who  has  studied  the  conditions  of  mod- 
ern cities.  It  has  been  affirmed  that  the  great- 
er the  city,  the  larger  will  be  the  proportion  of 
the  vicious.  While  this  is  probably  true,  yet 
certain  cities  have  attained  a pre-eminence  in 
evil  reputation  that  is  not  to  be  accounted  for 
merely  by  their  size  and  wealth. 


The  Problem  of  Prostitution 


5 


This  fact,  that  vice  varies  from  age  to  age 
and  from  place  to  place,  is  a sufficient  indi- 
cation that  the  causes  of  which  it  is  the  result 
do  not  operate  witii  uniform  force.  It  sug- 
gests the  idea  that  while  it  may  be  impossible 
to  control  all  of  the  causes  of  prostitution,  and 
so  to  eradicate  it,  certain  of  them  may  be 
brought  under  control,  with  the  result  of  limit- 
ing the  evil. 

Not  less  striking  than  the  variations  in  the 
volume  of  vice  are  the  variations  in  its  general 
character.  In  Rome  the  masculine  factor  in 
vice  consisted  in  the  soldiers  and  freedmen, 
the  gladiators  and  ruffians,  the  throngs  of  the 
idle  and  turbulent  that  congregated  in  the 
great  capital  of  the  world.  The  feminine 
factor  was  made  up  chiefly  of  the  vast  num- 
bers of  slave  women,  captured  in  the  unceas- 
ing wars  of  conquest.  Roman  vice  reached 
its  climax  when  these  elements  grew  to  such 
proportions  as  to  overshadow  orderly  society. 
In  the  Middle  Ages  the  masculine  factor  con- 
sisted in  the  soldiers  of  fortune,  travellers  and 
outlaws,  apprentices  and  pseudo-clergy,  that 
made  up  the  floating  population.  The  femi- 
nine factor  was  largely  composed  of  women 
abducted  by  robber  bands,  captured  in  petty 


6 


The  Social  Evil 


wars  and  abused  by  the  soldiery,  and  of  the 
neglected  offspring  of  these  unfortunates.  As 
the  floating  population  increased  with  the 
breaking  up  of  the  old  order,  as  wars  became 
more  prolonged  and  their  demoralizing  effect 
more  general,  mediaeval  prostitution  attained 
extraordinary  proportions.  All  society  seemed 
to  be  demoralized.  Modern  prostitution  bears 
the  peculiar  stamp  of  modern  social  and  indus- 
trial conditions.  The  hosts  of  unmarried 
workers  of  the  great  trading  or  industrial  city 
represent  the  masculine  factor  ; the  feminine 
factor  consists  of  women  and  girls  from  the 
midst  of  the  social  organism  who  have  been 
impelled  by  circumstances  to  make  a quasi- 
voluntary choice  of  prostitution  as  a means  of 
livelihood.  Speaking  generally,  we  may  say 
that  the  ancient  prostitute  was  a slave,  the 
mediaeval  prostitute  an  alien,  the  modern  pros/ 
titute  is  a citizen. 

The  fact  is  not  to  be  overlooked  that  there 
is  an  element  in  prostitution  which  remains 
fairly  constant.  In  every  society  there  have 
been  women  whom  circumstances  have  des- 
tined for  honorable  life,  but  who  from  innate 
perversity  chose  the  life  of  shame.  Modern 
criminal  anthropologists  have  shown  that  in 


The  Problem  of  Prostitution 


7 


physical,  mental  and  moral  characteristics 
these  women  form  a type  which  varies  little 
with  time  and  place.  Some  scientists  have 
gone  so  far  as  to  declare  that  these  are  the 
only  real  prostitutes.^ 

The  truth  seems  to  be,  however,  that  the 
importance  of  this  element  is  greatly  overesti- 
mated. The  victim  of  force  or  fraud,  or  of 
adverse  social  and  economic  conditions,  soon 
reaches,  a point  where  she  is  indistinguishable 
from  the  congenital  pervert. 
f It  is  a trite  saying  that  the  real  cause,  the 
I causa  causans,  of  prostitution  is  to  be  sought 
[in  the  male  factor.  A community,  it  is  said, 
I will  have  as  much  vice  as  it  is  willing  to  pay 
i for.  “ Demand  will  create  a supply.”  In  this 
I bald  and  cynical  form  the  statement  is  ob- 
‘ viously  untrue.  There  is  not  in  any  com- 
munity an  indefinite  number  of  women  who 
are  ready  to  sell  their  honor  for  a sufficient 
^ price.  The  number  who  do  so  varies  chiefly 
' for  reasons  that  are  independent  of  the  “ de- 
mand.” Nevertheless,  the  idea  is  not  without 
I a fraction  of  truth.  Under  existing  condi- 
tions, many  women  are  attracted,  rather  than 
forced,  into  prostitution.  The  greater  the 

* Lombroso,  B.  Tarnowsky,  Pauline  Tarnowsky,  Strohmberg. 


8 


The  Social  Evil 


j earnings  of  the  prostitute,  the  richer  her  attire, 

/ and  the  more  luxurious  her  mode  of  life,  the 

I , , 

stronger  is  the  attraction  for  those  who  are 
I upon  the  border-land  of  vice  and  virtue.  Ac- 
i cordingly,  any  account  of  the  causes  of  prosti- 
I tution  may  properly  begin  with  a consideration 
of  the  general  reasons  that  are  responsible  for 
I an  extensive  “ demand.” 

This  problem  is  intimately  connected  with 
that  of  the  movement  of  population  toward 
the  city.  A great  part  of  the  population  of  a 
modern  city  consists  of  young  men  who  have 
drifted  thither  from  the  country  and  small 
towns,  attracted  by  the  greater  opportunities 
of  rising  in  social  life  and  by  the  greater  de- 
gree of  personal  comfort  that  the  city  offers. 
As  a rule,  the  income  that  a young  man  earns^ 
whiTe  sufHcTeht  fb~secuFe~a  Tair  decree  of  com- 

_ _ o ^ 

fort  for  himself,  does  not  suffice  for  founding  a 
family.  As  his  income  increases,  his  stand- 
ard  of  personal  comfort  rises  : accordingly,  Im 
postpones  marriage^until  a date  m tlm  in- 
, definite  future,  or  ab^dons  e^ectation  of  jt . 
altogether. — His-ixiter^s  centre  almost  wholly 
In  himself.  He  is  responsible  to  no  one  but  * 
himselfi  The~pl^Ssures  that  he  may  obtain 
Trom  day  tb~day~become~tTie'~chief  end  of  his 


The  Problem  of  Prostitution 


Tfe.  A popular  philosophy  of  hedonism  fur- 
nishes him  with  a theoretical  justification  for 
the  inclinations  that  are  developed  by  the  cir- 
cumstances in  which  he  is  placed.  It  is  not 
unnatural,  then,  that  the  strongest  native  im- 
pulse of  man  should  find  expression  in  the  only 
way  open  to  it  — indulgence  in  vice. 

At  the  same  time  that  personal  scruples 
with  regard  to  continency  dissolve  in  the 
crucible  of  city  life,  the  main  external  check 
upon  a man’s  conduct,  the  opinion  of  his 
neighbors,  which  has  such  a powerful  influ- 
ence in  the  country  or  small  town,  tends  to 
disappear.  In  a great  city  one  has  no  neigh- 
bors. No  man  knows  the  doings  of  even  his 
close  friends  ; few  men  care  what  the  secret 
life  of  their  friends  may  be.  Thus,  with  his 
moral  sensibilities  blunted,  the  young  man  is 
left  free  to  follow  his  own  inclinations.  The 
greater  the  city,  as  a rule,  the  more  pro- 
nounced in  this  respect  is  its  demoralizing 
influence ; and  our  cities  are  growing  steadily 
greater  and  are  in  an  ever  greater  degree  set- 
ting the  moral  tone  for  the  country  as  a whole. 
The  problem  of  masculine  vice,  it  will  be  seen, 
is  an  integral  part  of  that  infinitely  complex 
problem,  the  “ Social  Question.” 


lO 


The  Social  Evil 


It  would  be  impossible  in  a brief  sketch  to 
analyze  the  complicated  phenomena  of  femi- 
nine vice.  It  is  possible,  however,  to  select  a 
few  of  the  most  important  and  most  character- 
istically modern  elements.  In  the  first  place, 
there  is  a large  class  of  women  who  may  be 
said  to  have  been  trained  for  prostitution  from 
earliest  childhood.  Foundlings  and  orphans 
and  the  offspring  of  the  miserably  poor,  they 
grow  up  in  wretched  tenements,  contaminated 
by  constant  familiarity  with  vice  in  its  lowest 
forms.  Without  training,  mental  or  moral,  they 
remain  ignorant  and  disagreeable,  slovenly  and 
uncouth,  good  for  nothing  in  the  social  and 
economic  organism.  When  half  matured  they 
fall  the  willing  victims  of  their  male  associates, 
and  inevitably  drift  into  prostitution.  This 
element  is  to  be  found  in  almost  every  large 
city ; but  it  is  in  London  where  it  is  to  be 
found  in  the  greatest  extent  and  the  greatest 
hideousness. 

Another  form  is  closely  connected  with  the 
appearance  of  women  in  industry.  In  many 
cities  there  are  great  classes  of  women  without 
any  resources  excepting  their  earnings  as  nee- 
dlewomen, day-workers,  domestics,  or  factory 
hands.  These  earnings  are  often  so  small  as 


The  Problem  of  Prostitution  1 1 

barely  to  suffice  for  the  urgent  needs  of  the 
day.  A season  of  non-employment  presents 
them  with  the  alternatives  of  starvation  or 
prostitution.  These  form  the  “ occasional 
prostitutes,”  who,  according  to  Blaschko,  far 
outnumber  all  others  in  the  city  of  Berlin. 
When  employment  is  again  to  be  had  they 
withdraw  from  the  life  of  shame,  if  its  ir- 
regularities have  not  incapacitated  them  for 
honorable  labor. 

A third  class,  one  which  is  more  or  less 
typical  of  American  prostitution,  is  made  up 
of  those  who  cannot  be  said  to  be  driven  into 
prostitution  either  by  absolute  want  or  by  ex- 
ceptionally pernicious  surroundings.  They 
may  be  employed  at  living  wages,  but  the 
prospect  of  continuing  from  year  to  year  with 
no  change  from  tedious  and  irksome  labor 
creates  discontent  and  eventually  rebellion. 
They,  too,  are  impregnated  with  the  view  that 
individual  happiness  is  the  end  of  life,  and 
their  lives  bring  them  no  happiness,  and 
promise  them  none.  The  circumstances  of 
city  life  make  it  possible  for  them  to  experiment 
with  immorality  without  losing  such  social  stand- 
ing as  they  may  have,  and  thus  many  of  them 
drift  gradually  into  professional  prostitution. 


12 


The  Social  Evil 


Any  social  problem,  it  must  be  remembered, 
appears  impossible  of  solution  when  whole 
classes  are  viewed  as  units.  The  influences 
that  are  chiefly  responsible  for  the  great  mass 
of  vice  are  not  within  the  control  of  govern- 
ment. Yet  it  is  evident  that  there  are  infinite 
gradations  from  those  who  would  remain  pure 
under  any  circumstances  to  those  who  are  al- 
most destined  by  nature  or  surroundings  to 
succumb  to  vice,  and  that  those  who  are  upon 
the  margin  of  a life  of  shame  may  be  rescued 
or  degraded  by  social  action.  By  private  and 
public  means  something  can  be  done  to  improve 
the  surroundings  of  poor  children,  to  relieve 
the  distress  of  industrial  workers  in  times  of 
non-employment,  to  improve  the  outlook  of 
those  women  whose  lives  are  to  be  spent  in  the 
abnormal  environment  of  factory  and  shop. 
Experience  has  shown  the  futility  of  measures 
that  aim  to  abolish  the  evil.  There  is,  how- 
ever, every  a priori  reason  to  believe  that  its 
extent  may  be  limited  by  a judicious  policy  of 
prevention. 


CHAPTER  II 


REGULATION ANCIENT,  MEDIyEVAL,  AND 

MODERN 

Of  the  ancient  nations  with  the  life  of  which 
we  are  best  acquainted,  the  Hebrews  alone 
understood  that  prostitution  is  itself  a serious 
evil.  The  Greeks  and  the  Romans  saw  clearly 
that  certain  evils  resulted  from  it,  and  it  was 
their  constant  endeavor  to  divest  it  of  those  at- 
tendant evils.  The  trend  of  Jewish  legislation 
may  accordingly  be  described  as  repressive ; 
that  of  Greece  and  Rome  as  regulative. 

In  Greece  and  Rome  the  evils  that  were  the 
subject  of  legislation  were  religious,  social  and 
political— never  hygienic.  Religion  required 
that  the  family  should  be  preserved  in  its  in- 
tegrity from  generation  to  generation ; hence 
anything  that  would  make  legitimacy  of  off- 
spring doubtful  was  execrated.  Politics  re- 
quired the  greatest  possible  number  of  citizens 
of  pure  blood  ; hence  anything  that  would  in- 
capacitate the  daughters  of  citizens  for  mar- 


13 


H 


The  Social  Evil 


riage  and  motherhood  was  considered  a public 
calamity.  As  a result,  we  find  a body  of  drastic 
legislation  which  made  the  woman  whose  honor 
was  tainted  a total  outcast  from  society.  It  was 
the  aim  of  the  legislator  to  prevent,  so  far  as 
possible,  the  fall  of  free  women,  and  to  make 
impossible  the  return  to  decent  society  of  such 
as  had  fallen. 

The  social  consequences  of  masculine  vice 
practically  escaped  the  notice  of  the  Greek  and 
Roman.  Although  there  is  evidence  enough 
that  venereal  disease  existed,  its  effect  upon 
the  welfare  of  the  community  was  not  under- 
stood. The  existence  of  a numerous  class  of 
slaves  obviated  the  necessity  of  sacrificing  free 
women  to  immorality.  Accordingly,  it  is  not 
surprising  that  the  utmost  latitude  of  conduct 
was  granted  to  the  freeman,  while  regularity  of 
life  on  the  part  of  free  women  was  enforced 
with  the  utmost  severity.  The  preservation  of 
city,  clan  and  family  depended  upon  the 
chastity  of  the  women  ; it  did  not  depend  in 
anything  like  the  same  degree  upon  the  chas- 
tity of  the  men. 

It  was  impossible,  to  be  sure,  to  confine  vice 
absolutely  to  slave  women.  But  if  free  women 
fell,  they  were  assimilated  to  the  class  of  slaves. 


15 


Regulation 

In  Rome  they  had  no  right  to  enjoy  their 
property,  they  had  no  control  over  their  chil- 
dren, they  could  not  give  oath  or  make  ac- 
cusation. Their  status  differed  from  that  of 
slaves  in  that  they  had  no  particular  master. 
They  were,  in  a sense,  public  property,  and 
were  required  to  live  in  quarters  set  apart  for 
them,  and  were  subjected  to  regulations  as  to 
dress  and  conduct  which  might  distinguish 
them  as  such  wherever  they  might  be.  In 
Rome,  as  early  as  i8o  b.c.,  they  were  regis- 
tered in  the  books  of  the  aediles,  in  order  that 
their  peculiar  status  might  be  the  more  per- 
fectly defined.^ 

After  Rome  had  grown  into  a world  empire, 
the  line  between  slave  and  serf,  freedman  and 
free-born,  tended  to  become  obscure.  At  the 
same  time,  a thorough  degradation  of  morals 
permeated  all  society,  so  that  it  was  no  longer 
possible  to  separate  the  immoral  from  the 
honorable.  Prostitutes  still  formed  a special 
class,  but  such  regulation  as  continued  to  exist 

' The  origin  of  the  special  quarter  and  the  special  garb  is  proba- 
bly to  be  found  in  the  fact  that  the  public  women  were  originally 
“priestesses"  of  Venus,  and  lived  in  the  precincts  of  the  shrines 
and  wore  a garb  indicating  their  religious  office.  The  transition  to 
the  status  of  public  slaves  with  the  fading  out  of  the  religious  idea 
can  be  easily  understood. 


i6 


The  Social  Evil 


had  for  its  chief  purpose  the  collection  of 
revenue  from  the  earnings  of  the  public  pros- 
titute. This  end  also  was  abandoned  when  a 
higher  type  of  imperial  authority  realized  the 
dishonor  of  public  sharing  in  infamous  gains. 
Under  the  Christian  Emperors  repressive  laws 
were  enacted,  thus  concluding  definitely  classi- 
cal regulation  of  vice.^ 

Modern  writers  have  sometimes  claimed 
that  prostitution  was  “ tolerated  ” in  Rome 
and  Greece  as  a means  of  combating  the  un- 
natural vice  which  was  so  common  in  ancient 
civilization.  It  is  a sufficient  refutation  of  this 
position  that  not  until  a comparatively  late 
date  was  unnatural  vice  considered  an  evil, 
while  prostitution  was  permitted  from  the  ear- 
liest times.  Moreover,  so  numerous  were  the 
slave  women  devoted  to  infamy  that  it  is  diffi- 
cult to  conceive  how  anyone  can  believe  that 
it  was  dearth  of  “ natural  ” vice  that  was  respon- 
sible for  the  hideous  development  of  unnatural 
vice  that  disfigured  the  history  of  decadent 
Greece  and  Rome. 

Mediceval  Regulation  of  Vice. — At  the  be- 
ginning of  the  Middle  Ages  the  states  of 

' Parent-Duchatelet,  De  la  Prostitution  dans  la  ville  de  Paris, 
3d  ed.,  vol.  ii.,  268. 


Regulation 


17 


Western  Europe  pursued  a strictly  repres- 
sive policy  with  regard  to  prostitution.  The 
capitularies  of  Charlemagne  imposed  upon  the 
prostitute  and  those  who  sheltered  her  impris- 
onment, whipping  and  exposure.  For  this 
severity,  the  legislation  of  the  late  Roman  and 
Byzantine  Emperors  was  no  doubt  partially 
responsible.  A more  potent  influence  was, 
however,  exercised  by  the  early  Teutonic  cus- 
toms and  laws.  Tacitus  states  that  in  some 
German  tribes  women  of  unchaste  life  were 
punished  by  death.  The  Salic  law  prescribed 
banishment  for  them,  and  the  laws  of  the  Visi- 
goths (600  A.D.)  inflicted  the  penalty  of  beating 
with  rods. 

But  as  population  increased  and  became 
more  settled  the  treatment  of  the  vicious 
underwent  a gradual  change.  By  the  tenth 
century,  the  persecution  of  the  prostitute  had 
practically  ceased.  Prostitution  came  to  be 
tolerated,  but  under  regulations  that  were 
aimed  to  divest  it  of  the  consequences  that  to 
the  mediaeval  mind  seemed  evil.  In  1180 
Henry  II.  gave  a royal  patent  for  the  legaliza- 
tion of  public  houses  of  prostitution  in  London. 
They  were  established  in  Hamburg  in  the  year 
1272  ; Regensburg,  1306;  Zurich,  1314;  Basel, 


i8 


The  Social  Evil 


1356;  Avignon,  1347;  Vienna,  1384.  The 
ordinance  of  St.  Louis,  1254,  and  the  laws  of 
Naples  of  the  eleventh  and  twelfth  centuries 
reflect  the  severity  of  early  Teutonic  legisla- 
tion. These  laws  were,  however,  merely  the 
outcome  of  the  religious  zeal  of  the  rulers  ; 
they  did  not  represent  the  public  sentiment  of 
the  time.  They  do  not  appear  ever  to  have 
been  systematically  enforced. 

Mediaeval  regulation  is  best  understood  by 
reference  to  the  ends  it  was  designed  to  meet. 
Preservation  of  the  existing  order  of  things 
was  regarded  as  of  cardinal  importance.  The 
integrity  of  the  family  was  looked  upon  as 
vital ; accordingly,  the  severest  penalties  were 
inflicted  upon  unchaste  wives  and  daughters 
of  burghers.  It  was  believed  that  if  provision 
were  made  for  the  satisfaction  of  the  vicious 
impulses  of  the  floating  population,  the  family 
would  be  secured  from  invasion.  Therefore 
the  brothel  was  not  only  tolerated  ; it  was  con- 
sidered a necessary  and  a useful  adjunct  to 
city  life.  This  will  account  for  the  fact  that 
the  house  of  ill  fame  was  often  built  at  public  ex- 
pense and  managed  on  public  account,  and  for 
the  voting  of  funds  for  securing  from  abroad 
inmates  for  the  public  house.  It  also  explains 


Regulation 


19 


the  condition  sometimes  imposed  upon  the 
citizen  who  leased  such  an  establishment,  that 
he  should  provide  a sufficient  number  of  suit- 
able inmates. 

It  was  also  essential  that  public  women 
should  form  a class  absolutely  distinct.  They 
were  normally  secured  from  foreign  countries, 
or,  at  any  rate,  from  beyond  the  city’s  domain. 
They  remained  aliens  ; and  if  any  woman  from 
within  the  ranks  of  decent  society  fell  from 
virtue,  she  became  an  alien  in  status  and  was 
forever  debarred  from  returning  to  her  kin. 
They  were  required  to  live  in  a special  quarter 
and  wear  a distinguishing  mark  upon  their 
clothing,  usually  a yellow  or  red  ribbon  upon 
the  sleeve,  so  that  no  mistake  might  be  made 
as  to  their  character. 

There  was  no  trace  of  the  modern  feeling 
that  vice  should  be  quite  hidden  from  respecta- 
bility, ignored  by  decent  society.  The  pros- 
titute played  no  mean  role  in  the  social  life  of 
the  Middle  Ages.  As  such,  she  took  part  in 
public  processions,  and  even  in  sacred  festivals.^ 
The  brothel  was  bound  to  entertain  notables 

* The  student  of  the  origin  of  social  customs  will  at  once  suspect  a 
relation  between  the  functions  of  public  women  at  festivals  and  the 
orgies  in  celebration  of  certain  pagan  deities.  As  a fact,  the  connec- 
tion would  not  be  difficult  to  trace. 


20 


The  Social  Evil 


who  visited  the  city.  In  short,  the  Middle 
Ages  believed  vice  to  be  nothing  evil,  so  long 
as  it  showed  its  true  colors. 

The  second  aim  of  the  mediaeval  legislator 
was  to  prevent  the  brothel  from  becoming  a 
centre  of  disorder.  At  all  times  the  prostitute 
and  the  outlaw  have  been  natural  allies. 
Wherever  houses  of  ill  fame  were  grouped  in 
special  quarters,  thieves  and  cut-throats  con- 
gregated, menacing  the  persons  and  property 
of  the  citizens.^ 

It  was  the  mediaeval  policy  to  fix  responsi- 
bility upon  groups,  rather  than  upon  individ- 
uals. This  idea  appears  in  the  regulation  of 
prostitution.  Sometimes  the  public  women 
were  organized  in  guilds,  which  chose  a head 
who  was  responsible  for  everything  that  might 
occur  in  the  brothel.  This  was  the  case  in 
Nuremberg  ; and,  after  the  fashion  of  other 
guilds,  the  licensed  prostitutes  took  it  upon 
themselves  to  prosecute  persons  who  infringed 
upon  their  monopoly.  Sometimes  they  were 

’ In  1367  two  quarters  were  set  apart  by  the  Parisian  authorities 
for  prostitution,  the  Glatigny  and  the  Hueleu.  Great  numbers  of 
thieves,  robbers  and  vagabonds  flocked  together  in  these  quarters, 
making  of  them  veritable  strongholds,  whence  vice  and  crime  could 
raid  the  city  with  impunity.  The  police  were  defled  and  even  royal 
edicts  for  demolishing  the  places  were  for  decades  set  at  nought. — 
Carlier,  Les  Deux  Prostitutions,  11-13. 


Regulation 


21 


placed  under  the  charge  of  a special  official 
who  decided  all  cases  of  injury  committed  by 
them  or  against  them  ; in  still  other  places  a 
special  court  was  created  for  their  control. 
Where  a brothel  was  let  to  a responsible  citi- 
zen, he  was  compelled  to  undertake  all  respon- 
sibility for  the  conduct  of  its  inmates. 

One  further  object  held  in  view  by  the 
mediaeval  legislator  was  the  organization  of 
prostitution  for  fiscal  purposes.  As  possessors 
of  a lucrative  occupation,  they  were  compelled 
to  contribute  to  the  public  treasury.  There 
seems  to  have  been  no  hesitancy  about  accept- 
ing for  public  purposes  a part  of  the  earnings 
of  shame.  Even  the  Church  did  not  stick  at 
such  revenues.^ 

Mediaeval  regulations,  then,  possessed  gen-’' 
erally  these  three  aims  : prevention  of  vicious 
conduct  on  the  part  of  citizen  women,  codec-  / 
tion  of  revenues  from  prostitution,  and  pres- 
ervation of  public  order. 

As  in  the  case  of  classical  regulation,  aims 
that  were  possible  of  realization  while  the  cities 
were  of  moderate  size  and  while  social  relations 

‘ Clement  VIII.  compelled  public  women  to  give  a part  of  their 
earnings  to  the  Convent  of  St.  Mary  of  Penitence. — Tammeo,  La 
Prostituzione,  30. 


22 


The  Social  Evil 


were  fixed,  were  not  capable  of  realization 
when  the  old  order  broke  up  under  the  social 
and  economic  changes  at  the  end  of  the  Middle 
Ages.  Society  as  a whole  became  corrupt  ; 
the  alien  character  of  prostitution  disappeared. 
Sumptuary  laws  were  enacted,  because  it  was 
thought  that  it  was  the  jewelry  and  fine  cloth- 
ing of  the  prostitute  that  attracted  decent  girls 
and  women  into  the  life  of  shame.  At  about 
the  same  time  an  epidemic  of  syphilis  spread 
over  Europe,  assuming,  as  a result  of  the  gen- 
eral immorality,  the  proportions  of  a world 
plague.  Under  the  influence  of  this  evil  the 
licensed  houses  of  prostitution  were  pretty  gen- 
erally closed  during  a considerable  part  of  the 
15th  and  1 6th  centuries.  Re-opened  again, 
they  lived  by  the  strength  of  traditional  usage 
until  replaced  by  modern  regulation  of  pros- 
titution, or,  as  it  is  generally  known,  regie- 
mentation. 

Modern  Regiilation. — Modern  regulation  is 
almost  wholly  distinct  from  that  of  mediaeval 
and  classical  times,  both  in  its  ends  and  in  the 
means  it  employs  to  secure  them.  The  med- 
iaeval city  strove  to  insure  the  welfare  of  its 
own  citizens  ; it  cared  nothing  for  the  moral 
welfare  of  the  aliens  who  were  the  victims  of 


Regulation 


23 


its  policy.  The  ejttension  of  the  unit  of  society 
from  the  single  city  tO-the  nation,  from  the 
nation  to  the  civilized  world,  has  awakened  the 
public  conscience  to  the  fact  that  even  the  pros- 
titute is  a member  of  society.  Under  modern 
conditions,  it  is  inconceivable  that  a political 
body  should  aid  in  the  securing  of  victims  for 
vice,  even  if  it  were  still  believed  that  the  ex- 
istence of  a vicious  class  is  a safeguard  for  the 
virtuous ; for  the  victims  must  necessarily  be 
recruited  from  orderly  society, — in  the  last  in- 
stance, from  the  ranks  of  the  virtuous.' 

Accordingly,  the  moral  point  of  view  has 
changed  completely.  Every  modern  system 
of  regulation  avows  the  purpose  of  preventing, 
as  far  as  possible,  the  degradation  of  those 
who  are  not  yet  depraved,  and  the  rescue  and 
restoration  to  honorable  life  of  fallen  women 
who  are  still  susceptible  to  moral  influences. 

But  the  chief  distinguishing  feature  of  mod- 
ern regulation  is  its  endeavor  to  stamp  out  the 
diseases  that  everywhere  attend  vice.  N othing 


' Certain  authors  have  caught  at  the  idea  of  a supposed  natural 
class  of  degenerate  women,  reversions  to  a non-moral  type,  as  fitting 
victims  for  social  vice.  It  is  no  hardship,  they  claim,  that  such 
creatures  should  be  permitted  to  follow  their  own  natures.  This  is 
' evidently  an  attempt  to  restore  the  alien  status  of  the  prostitute.  It 
is  not  worth  while  to  point  out  the  weakness  of  the  position. — See 
Strdhmberg,  dt.,  passim. 


24 


The  Social  Evil 


analogous  to  this  aim  is  to  be  found  in 
ancient  and  mediaeval  regulation.^ 

So  prominent  has  the  sanitary  aspect  of  the 
problem  of  vice  become  that  the  term  “ regula- 
tion ” is  used  generally  to  denote  sanitary  regu- 
lation alone. 

One  end  that  modern  regulation  has  in 
common  with  mediaeval  regulation  is  the  dis- 
sociation of  vice  from  crime.  In  the  Middle 
Ages,  this  end  was  partially  attained  by  fixing 
responsibility  not  upon  the  individual  prosti- 
tute, but  upon  individuals  or  groups  of  indi- 
viduals who  could  not  so  easily  evade  the  law. 
A study  of  modern  regulations  will  reveal  the 
fact  that  not  dissimilar  means  are  employed  for 
the  same  end. 

’ Parent-Ducliatelet  cites  regulations  of  Avignon  of  the  14th  cen- 
tury, which  required  that  public  women  should  be  visited  weekly  by 
a “barber.”  The  regulations  in  question  are,  however,  undoubtedly 
spurious. 


CHAPTER  III 


REGULATION  OF  PROSTITUTION  IN  PARIS 

During  the  Middle  Ages,  prostitution  was 
tolerated  in  Paris  as  in  all  other  important 
cities  of  Central  Europe.  But  with  the  ap- 
pearance of  the  epidemic  of  syphilis  toleration 
ceased.  The  victim  of  that  frightful  malady 
fell  heir  to  all  the  cruel  maltreatment  that  had 
been  the  especial  heritage  of  the  leper.  The 
prostitute,  as  the  natural  medium  of  the  dis- 
ease, came  to  be  regarded  with  horror  and 
hatred  such  as  her  mere  moral  delinquencies 
have  hardly  ever  inspired.  The  ancient  laws 
making  prostitution  a crime  were  restored,  and 
not  until  the  end  of  the  eighteenth  century  did 
they  cease  to  be  enforced. 

For  a long  time  after  the  policy  of  expelling 
the  male  syphilitic  from  society  had  given  way 
to  the  more  rational  policy  of  treating  him,  no 
provision  was  made  for  the  relief  of  unfortunate 
prostitutes  who  were  suffering  from  disease. 
It  was  only  accidentally  that  certain  features 


25 


26 


The  Social  Evil 


were  inserted  in  repressive  laws  which  pointed 
toward  a system  of  sanitary  control.  As  late 
as  1657  it  was  the  practice  to  exclude  infected 
prostitutes  from  the  Salpetriere,  where  the 
women  charged  with  prostitution  were  con- 
fined. As  the  system  of  inspection  was  im- 
perfect, many  who  were  diseased  were  found 
among  the  prisoners.  These  were  treated  by 
order  of  the  authorities  of  the  prison,  although 
this  was  strictly  contrary  to  law.  An  edict  of 
1684  recognized  the  necessity  of  treating  the 
diseased.  This  provision  is  regarded  as  the 
germ  of  the  French  sanitary  control.^ 

By  the  same  law,  the  lieutenant  of  police 
was  given  practically  unlimited  control  over 
prostitutes.  He  passed  sentence,  nor  was 
there  any  appeal  from  his  decision.  The 
length  of  time  during  which  the  prostitutes 
were  imprisoned  lay  in  his  sole  discretion. 
The  determination  of  the  criteria  whereby 
a woman  was  judged  guilty  of  debauch  lay  also 
in  his  province,  as  appears  from  the  preamble  of 
the  law  of  July  26,  1713.  It  is  easy  to  see  in 
this  the  germ  of  the  discretionary  power  that 
the  police  assume  in  dealing  with  prostitutes." 


' Parent-Duchatelet,  op.  cit.,  ii.,  5 et  seq. 

Lecour,  La  Prostitution  a Paris  et  a Londres.  407. 


Regulation  in  Paris 


27 


For  the  rest,  an  effort  was  to  be  made  to 
reform  these  women.  They  were  to  attend 
mass  and  hear  prayers  read,  etc.  They  were 
treated,  of  course,  as  ordinary  criminals : they 
were  dressed  in  prison  uniform  and  fed  on 
prison  fare  and  were  compelled  to  perform 
the  hardest  work  of  which  they  were  capable. 

By  the  law  of  1713,  above  mentioned,  the 
determination  of  the  facts  of  prostitution  was 
left  to  the  royal  commissaries  or  judges  in  the 
several  quarters  of  the  city.  These  were  to 
receive  as  proof  the  declarations  of  the  neigh- 
bors. The  pronouncing  of  sentence  and  the 
discretionary  power  as  to  its  severity  still 
remained  with  the  lieutenant  of  police.^ 

Such  were  the  general  regulations  on  the 
subject  of  prostitution  down  to  1768.  In  that 
year  a royal  ordinance  decreed  that  prostitutes 
found  with  the  army  should  be  arrested  and 
imprisoned  by  the  military  authorities  unless’ 
they  were  domiciled  in  the  vicinity.  In  that 
case  they  should  be  turned  over  to  the  civil 
authorities  for  imprisonment.  Before  being 
imprisoned,  however,  they  were  to  be  treated 
for  disease  if  found  ill.^ 

It  is  easy  to  see  how  the  regulations  of  1684, 

’ Lecour,  op.  eit.,  409-410.  ^ Lecour,  op.  cit.,  41 1. 


28 


The  Social  Evil 


supplemented  by  the  ordinance  of  1 768,  should 
become  in  effect  a system  of  sanitary  control. 
The  treatment  previous  to  imprisonment  was 
compulsory ; the  punishment  lay  in  the  dis- 
cretion of  the  lieutenant  of  police.  All  that 
was  necessary  was  to  make  periodical  arrests 
with  compulsory  treatment  and  to  discharge 
those  who  were  cured  without  imprisonment. 
It  appears  that  a system  something  like  this 
developed  toward  the  end  of  the  micien 
rigime} 

It  was  natural  that  the  need  for  a system  of 
permanent  registration  should  arise.  The 
first  appearance  of  the  idea  of  registration  was 
in  1 765.  A police  officer  suggested  in  a report 
to  the  lieutenant  of  police  that  the  existing 
disorder  would  be  greatly  diminished  if  all 
public  women  were  registered  by  the  police. 
It  was  rather  with  the  hope  of  securing  better 
order  than  with  a view  to  sanitary  control 
that  the  idea  was  then  put  forward.  Some 
years  later  another  memoir  emphasized  the 
sanitary  bearing  of  registration.  A commis- 
sion was  appointed  to  examine  into  the  matter, 
but  it  pronounced  the  scheme  impracticable.’ 


* Carlier,  Les  Deux  Prostitutions^  17. 

* Reuss,  La  Prostitution,  231  et  seq. 


Regulation  in  Paris 


29 


At  the  close  of  the  reign  of  Louis  XVI.  the 
plan  was  again  taken  up,  and  two  agents  were 
ordered  to  proceed  with  the  registration  of 
prostitutes.  The  Revolution,  however,  pre- 
vented the  order  from  being  carried  into  effect. 
The  principles  of  the  Revolution  were  too  un- 
compromising to  permit  of  a policy  so  likely 
to  infringe  upon  individual  liberty. 

Not  until  1798  were  any  preventive  sanitary 
measures  taken.  In  that  year  a private  physi- 
cian undertook,  under  administrative  patron- 
age, the  work  of  examining  the  prostitutes 
actively  engaged  in  their  occupation.  Ap- 
parently, it  was  the  understanding  that  he 
should  communicate  to  the  police  the  state 
of  health  of  those  whom  he  examined.^ 

In  1802  the  prefecture  of  police  proceeded 
to  register  public  prostitutes  and  to  impose 
upon  them  the  obligation  of  submitting  to 
fortnightly  examination.  Hitherto  the  courts 
had  decided  whether  or  not  a woman  was 
guilty  of  professional  debauch  ; now  the  police 
proceeded  to  establish  the  facts  in  a purely 
administrative  way.  The  ardor  for  personal 
liberty  had  cooled  by  this  time  so  that  no  diffi- 
culties were  thrown  in  the  way  of  the  carrying 

* Lecour,  op.  cit.,  69. 


30 


The  Social  Evil 


out  of  the  plan  of  regulation.  In  1805  a dis- 
pensary was  established  for  the  treatment  of 
the  diseased  prostitutes.  All  expenses  were 
to  be  met  by  fees  collected  by  the  physicians 
themselves.  This  system,  it  can  easily  be 
understood,  led  to  great  abuses.  The  exam- 
ining physicians  took  care  to  make  their  fees 
as  large  as  possible.  Accordingly,  in  1810,  it 
was  found  necessary  to  make  a change  in 
this  respect.  The  physicians  were  to  report  to 
the  cashier  of  the  administration  the  names, 
addresses,  and  the  state  of  health  of  the  women 
examined.  That  official  paid  the  physicians 
and  became  responsible  for  the  recovery  of  the 
sums  from  the  prostitutes.^ 

By  the  second  decade  of  the  centur}"  the 
Parisian  police  had  developed  a plan  which 
they  have  cherished  ever  since  — that  of  con- 
fining prostitution  to  houses  specially  licensed 
for  that  purpose.  The  difficulties  that  lay  in 
the  way  of  controlling  the  conduct  of  the  pros- 
titute by  dealing  with  her  directly  were  found 
to  be  almost  insuperable.  The  keeper  of  a 
brothel  or  a house  of  accommodation,  however 
low  he  may  be  morally,  has  nevertheless  a 
property  stake  that  will  keep  him  within  the 

‘ Lecour,  op.  cit.,  73. 


Regulation  in  Paris 


31 


bounds  of  the  law.  Prostitutes  who  were  liv- 
ing in  isolated  quarters  were  ordered  to  betake 
themselves  directly  to  the  houses  of  accommo- 
dation. Soliciting  upon  the  streets  was  for- 
bidden again  and  again,  but  the  prohibition 
was  not  capable  of  enforcement. 

In  1828  the  tax  levied  upon  prostitutes  for 
meeting  the  expenses  of  sanitary  control  was 
abolished.  It  had  proven  burdensome  and 
injurious.  Half  the  time  of  the  special  agents 
of  the  Morals  Bureau  was  spent  in  hunting  up 
prostitutes  who  were  delinquent  in  their  pay- 
ments. Moreover,  it  acted  as  a deterrent  to 
voluntary  registration.^ 

Up  to  1828  the  police  registered  as  a li- 
censed prostitute  any  woman  who  desired  it. 
No  inquiries  were  made  as  to  age,  civil  state, 
or  antecedents.  Young  girls  arrested  for  de- 
bauch were  registered  forthwith.  According 
to  Parent-Duchatelet,  the  register  of  public 
women  contained  the  names  of  girls  of  ten, 
who  had,  of  course,  never  been  engaged  in  vice. 
In  1828  this  outrageous  policy  ceased.^ 

In  1 843  the  service  of  moralswas  reorganized. 
The  system  then  established  is  practically  the 

' Parent-Duchatelet,  op.  cit.,  ii.,  224. 

* earlier,  op.  cit.,  41. 


32 


The  Social  Evil 


one  now  in  force.  It  has  also  served  as  a 
model  for  most  of  the  systems  of  Europe. 

Prostitution  is  tolerated  either  in  licensed 
brothels  or  in  houses  of  accommodation  where 
prostitutes  at  large  are  compelled  to  resort. 
Weekly  examinations  are  imposed  upon  the 
inmates  of  brothels ; these  take  place  in  the 
licensed  houses.  The  prostitutes  at  large  are 
obliged  to  appear  once  in  two  weeks  at  the 
office  provided  by  the  police  for  that  purpose. 
Those  found  to  be  diseased  are  sent  to  the 
hospital  of  the  prison  of  St.  Lazare,  and  are 
not  liberated  until  cured. 

To  insure  a certain  control  over  the  con- 
duct of  these  women,  the  keeper  of  a licensed 
house  (always  a woman)  is  responsible  for 
good  order  in  her  establishment.  A prosti- 
tute who  lives  alone  in  a rented  apartment 
must  own  the  furniture  of  the  apartment,  so 
that  it  will  not  be  easy  for  her  to  disappear 
in  case  she  has  violated  any  of  the  regulations. 

Women  may  be  registered  as  prostitutes 
either  by  order  of  the  chief  of  the  Morals 
Bureau  or  at  their  own  request.  As  a rule, 
inscription  is  voluntary.  Clandestine  prostitu- 
tion is  punished  severely  enough  to  make  it 
worth  while  for  the  notoriously  debauched  to 


Regulation  in  Paris  33 

avail  themselves  of  the  toleration  offered  by 
the  police. 

Originally,  little  attention  seems  to  have  been 
paid  to  the  checking  of  the  growth  of  vice.  But 
there  has  been  an  increasing  tendency  to  refuse 
the  registration  of  minors.  While  this  cannot 
be  done  in  every  case,  minors  are  registered 
much  less  frequently  now  than  formerly.  The 
tenants  of  licensed  houses  are  forbidden  to 
admit  boys  under  eighteen,  or  students  of  the 
various  higher  schools.  Great  care  is  also 
exercised  in  making  it  easy  for  a woman  who 
desires  to  reform  to  do  so. 

The  control  of  prostitution  is  given  over 
almost  entirely  to  a body  of  special  agents 
who  form  a part  of  the  general  secret  service. 
The  ordinary  police  have  nothing  to  do  with 
prostitution,  except  in  case  of  gross  violation 
of  public  decency  or  public  order.  Between 
forty  and  fifty  agents  are  required  for  this 
service.  They  must,  of  course,  be  men  of 
great  tact,  they  must  be  men  upon  whom  reli- 
ance may  be  placed,  since  any  mistake  they 
may  make  entails  the  most  serious  conse- 
quences. 

The  medical  service  consisted  in  1890  of 
a chief  and  assistant-chief  surgeon,  fourteen 


34 


The  Social  Evil 


surgeons  in  ordinary,  and  ten  adjunct  surgeons. 
They  are  assigned  to  various  quarters  of  the 
city,  changing  at  intervals  by  regular  rotation. 

The  first  thing  that  strikes  the  student  of 
the  Parisian  system  is  the  weakness  of  its 
legal  basis.  Since  the  Revolution,  no  general 
laws  on  the  subject  of  prostitution  have  been 
made.  The  Penal  Code  does  not  touch  upon 
it.  The  police  are  therefore  compelled  to  go 
back  to  the  Ordinances  of  1684,  1713,  1768 
and  1778  for  their  authority  to  regulate  vice. 
According  to  these  ordinances,  prostitution 
was  a crime,  which  the  lieutenant  of  police 
could  punish  at  his  discretion.  Clandestine 
prostitution  is  still  punished  according  to 
those  ordinances.^ 

The  modern  police  are  not,  however,  the 
successors  to  the  powers  of  the  lieutenant  of 
police  under  the  ancien  rdgime.  The  lieuten- 
ant of  police  could  pass  sentence  if  his  royal 
master  authorized  him  to  do  so.  The  mod- 
ern police  commissary  has  no  power  to  sen- 
tence a criminal ; yet  he  appears  to  assume 
such  an  authority  with  regard  to  the  so-called 
crime  of  debauch. 

Another  legal  prop  for  the  service  of  morals 

* Cf.  Riglement  du  ig  Novembre  184.J,  Sec.  7. 


Regulation  in  Paris 


35 


is  the  law  of  1789  constituting  the  municipali- 
ties. By  this  law,  the  municipalities  are 
assured  the  advantages  of  a good  police  sys- 
tem. The  exact  powers  of  the  police  are  not 
enumerated,  but  by  a law  of  1 790  it  is  speci- 
fied that  the  police  are  to  maintain  public 
order  and  decency  and  to  protect  public 
health.  It  is  assumed  that  this  implies  a 
system  of  police  regulation  of  prostitution.' 

There  have  been  numerous  attempts  to  pass 
general  laws  with  regard  to  prostitution.  In 
1811  and  in  1816,  in  1819  and  in  1823,  emi- 
nent administrators,  lawyers  and  statesmen  at- 
tempted to  formulate  special  laws  that  would 
be  appropriate  to  so  delicate  a subject.  The 
task  had  to  be  abandoned,  however.  It  was 
impossible  to  devise  a law  at  once  efficient  and 
just.  And  so  the  police  have  continued  to 
take  matters  into  their  own  hands,  changing 
their  regulations  from  time  to  time  to  suit  the 
exigencies  of  the  occasion. 

Doubtless  the  service  of  morals  has  gained 
rather  than  lost  by  the  flexibility  thus  attained. 
But  the  lack  of  any  other  than  a fictitious 
legal  basis  has  always  been  a point  of  attack 
for  the  opponents  of  the  system.  While  some 

^ Lecour,  op.  cit. , 29. 


36 


The  Social  Evil 


of  the  supporters  of  the  system  of  regulation 
acquiesce  in  the  absence  of  general  laws,  be- 
lieving it  beneath  the  dignity  of  the  State  to 
notice  a subject  which  is  the  cause  of  so  many 
cares  for  the  police,  the  majority  would  look 
with  favor  upon  any  measure  which  would  free 
the  police  from  the  serious  charge  of  illegal 
usurpation  of  powers. 


CHAPTER  IV 


REGULATION  IN  BERLIN  AND  IN  OTHER  CITIES 
OF  EUROPE 

Berlin.  — The  Reformation  and  the  great 
social  and  economic  movements  that  were  con- 
nected with  it  wrought  a complete  change  in 
the  character  of  the  city  of  Berlin.  From 
a conservative  mediaeval  town,  in  which  every 
person  had  his  fixed  place,  it  had  become  a 
large  and  wealthy  city.  The  old  regulations 
concerning  vice  had  been  quite  outgrown.  Al- 
though the  old  regulations,  abolished  at  the 
time  of  the  Reformation,  were  restored  when 
the  religious  ardor  had  cooled,  prostitution 
was  no  longer  easily  controlled  by  them.  It 
had  increased  greatly  in  volume  and  in  com- 
plexity. The  inference  of  contemporaries  was 
that  the  Reformation  had  thoroughly  ruined 
the  morals  of  society — an  inference  accepted 
by  not  a few  modern  writers. 

In  1700  a system  of  regulation  was  adopted 
which  contained  the  essential  features  of  mod- 


37 


38 


The  Social  Evil 


ern  regulation.  As  one  would  expect,  much 
was  borrowed  from  the  Middle  Ages.  The 
principle  of  dealing  with  groups  of  individuals 
under  a responsible  head  appears  in  the  pro- 
vision which  makes  the  keeper  of  the  brothel 
responsible  for  the  conduct  of  the  inmates 
of  his  house.  If  any  outrage  were  perpetrated, 
such  as  assault  or  robbery,  the  keeper  had  to 
make  good  the  damage  done.  If  a woman, 
known  to  be  diseased,  transmitted  the  malady, 
the  keeper  had  to  stand  the  costs  of  treatment. 
In  this  way  it  was  thought  possible  to  restrain 
effectively  all  tendency  toward  disorder. 

For  the  sake  of  preserving  the  health  not 
only  of  the  prostitutes,  but  also  of  their  visit- 
ors, an  official  surgeon  was  to  examine  them 
fortnightly.  Those  who  were  found  to  be  dis- 
eased were  to  be  confined  to  their  rooms,  if  the 
malady  were  slight ; if  it  were  grave,  they  were 
to  be  sent  to  the  Hospital  of  Charity.  This 
feature  of  the  regulation  is  of  course  distinctly 
a modern  innovation. 

Another  thing  that  strikes  one  as  distinctly 
modern  is  the  declaration  that  prostitution  is 
not  permitted,  but  tolerated — a bit  of  sophistry 
which  marks  a distinct  advance  over  the  naive 
view  of  the  Middle  Ages.  Instead  of  the  medi- 


In  Berlin  and  Other  Cities 


39 


aeval  tax  upon  prostitutes  as  the  possessors 
of  a lucrative  trade,  we  find  a fee  of  two  Gro- 
schen  for  medical  examination.  This,  too,  is 
modern.  It  shows  that  even  then  there  was  a 
feeling  that  it  was  dishonorable  for  the  State 
to  accept  the  earnings  of  so  foul  a trade,  ex- 
cepting for  the  expenditure  of  regulating  the 
trade.  One  thing  more  that  marks  the  regu- 
lation as  modern  is  the  provision  that,  if  a 
prostitute  wished  to  reform,  the  keeper  of  a 
brothel  could  not  detain  her,  even  though  she 
owed  him  a debt.^ 

This  regulation  remained  in  force  until  1792. 
With  the  growth  of  wealth  and  population, 
vice  had  increased  enormously.  In  1780  there 
were  a hundred  houses  of  ill  fame,  with  seven 
to  nine  inmates  in  each.^  There  was,  besides, 
a class  of  prostitutes  who  lived  in  rented  lodg- 
ings and  carried  on  their  profession  on  their 
own  account.  These  also  were  tolerated  by 
the  police,  although  the  regulation  of  1 700  had 
made  no  provision  for  them.  Moreover,  clan- 
destine prostitution  throve,  although  the  police 
dealt  with  unlicensed  prostitutes  in  summary 
fashion,  arresting  them  and  registering  them 

* Behrend,  Die  Prostitution  in  Berlin,  20. 

’ Ibid.,  26. 


40 


The  Social  Evil 


without  formalities,  and  compelling-  them,  under 
severe  penalties,  to  appear  for  sanitary  exami- 
nations. No  special  regard  was  had  for  the 
age  or  condition  of  those  thus  inscribed  upon 
the  register  of  infamy.  Many  of  them  were 
mere  children. 

In  1792  a new  regulation  was  made.  This 
was  in  many  respects  a mere  amplification  of 
the  regulation  of  1700.  Licensed  houses  of 
prostitution  were  tolerated,  as  were  also  prosti- 
tutes at  large.  This  was  strictly  contrary  to 
the  General  Code  {Allgemeines  Landrecht'), 
which  prohibited  prostitution  excepting  in 
licensed  houses.  No  attention  was  paid  to 
this  fact  at  the  time. 

The  principle  of  placing  the  prostitutes 
under  the  control  of  persons  who  could  be 
responsible  for  their  conduct  was  still  further 
developed.  No  one  could  open  a brothel 
without  first  receiving  permission  from  the 
police  ; no  one  could  rent  a room  to  a pros- 
titute without  permission.  As  in  the  older 
regulations,  the  tenant  of  the  licensed  house 
was  responsible  for  any  outrage  or  robbery' 
committed  upon  his  premises.  Moreover,  he 
was  held  to  be  an  accomplice  until  he  proved 
his  innocence.  Even  if  it  could  be  proven 


In  Berlin  and  Other  Cities 


41 


that  he  was  no  partner  to  the  outrage,  he  was 
subject  to  fine  and  imprisonment  if  he  had  not 
done  everything  in  his  power  to  prevent  it. 
Prostitutes  at  large  were  compelled  to  live  in 
certain  streets.  The  person  who  let  lodgings 
to  them  (always  an  elderly  woman,  single, 
widowed,  or  divorced)  had  to  undertake  re- 
sponsibilities similar  to  those  of  the  tenant  of 
a licensed  house. 

Much  greater  emphasis  was  laid  upon  the 
sanitary  feature  of  regulation.  Any  person 
who  should  transmit  a venereal  disease  was  to 
stand  the  cost  of  treatment  and  was  subject  to 
imprisonment  for  three  months.  While  this 
provision  applied  to  men  as  well  as  to  women, 
it  is  easy  to  see  that  in  practice  it  would  hardly 
reach  anyone  except  the  prostitute.  The 
mistress  of  a brothel  was  held  jointly  respon- 
sible with  the  inmate  for  any  disease  trans- 
mitted, whether  she  knew  that  the  disease 
existed  or  not.  She  was  also  under  obligation 
to  report  at  once  any  case  of  disease  in  her 
house.  If  she  failed  to  do  so,  she  was  subject 
to  fine  and  imprisonment. 

The  main  sanitary  measure  was,  however, 
the  periodic  examinations  by  the  official  sur- 
geons. These  took  place  weekly,  at  the 


42 


The  Social  Evil 


domicile  of  the  prostitute.  Those  who  were 
diseased  were  disposed  of  as  in  the  older  reg- 
ulation. To  meet  the  expenses  of  treatment, 
a contribution  was  laid  upon  all  prostitutes. 
As  this  proved  insufficient,  a tax  was  imposed 
three  years  later  upon  the  tenants  of  licensed 
houses. 

Much  more  attention  than  formerly  was  paid 
to  the  moral  welfare  of  the  fallen  woman.  If 
she  wished  to  reform,  she  could  not  be  de- 
tained for  any  reason.  Minors  could  be  regis- 
tered only  in  case  they  were  already  utterly 
depraved.^  Of  this  the  police  were  the 
judges,  since  no  girl  could  be  admitted  to  a 
brothel  without  permission.  Severe  penalties 
were  enacted  against  enticing  young  women 
into  brothels. 

For  the  preservation  of  public  decency, 
soliciting  in  public  places  was  prohibited,  as 
well  as  indecent  proposals  from  windows  or 
doors  of  brothels.  The  brothel  tenant  or  the 
woman  who  had  let  a room  to  a prostitute 
was  responsible  for  the  enforcement  of  this 
regulation.  Moreover,  the  sale  of  intoxi- 
cating liquors  in  brothels  was  prohibited,  and, 
later,  dancing  and  games,  in  order  to  pre- 

* The  age  of  majority  was  twenty-four. 


In  Berlin  and  Other  Cities 


43 


vent  vicious  resorts  from  becoming  places  of 
entertainment.^ 

No  provision  was  made  for  compulsory 
registration.  But  the  clandestine  prostitute 
was  punished  by  three  months’  imprisonment, 
followed  by  confinement  in  the  workhouse 
until  she  should  manifest  a desire  to  enter 
some  honorable  employment,  and  should  find 
an  opportunity  to  do  so. 

This  regulation  remained  practically  un- 
changed until  1828.  It  was  not,  however, 
enforced  with  uniformity  from  year  to  year. 
The  ideas  of  the  French  Revolution  permeated 
German  society  to  a certain  extent,  creating  a 
feeling  that  it  was  an  outrage  upon  justice  to 
place  a special  class  of  human  beings  under 
the  arbitrary  control  of  the  police.  More- 
over, it  was  felt  that  the  intimate  relations  of 
the  State  with  vice,  which  a system  of  regula- 
tion naturally  creates,  were  degrading.  Not 
only  did  this  feeling  exist  in  the  general  com- 
munity, but  it  influenced  not  a little  the  min- 
istry of  the  realm.  Accordingly,  the  police  of 
Berlin  were  subjected  to  hostility  from  above 
and  below.  In  1810  the  ministry  absolutely 
prohibited  the  registration  of  minors,  a practice 

’ Behrend,  op.  cit.,  29  et  seq. 


44 


The  Social  Evil 


in  which  the  police  had  hitherto  persisted. 
The  police  were  forbidden  to  grant  permits  for 
new  brothels.  They  were  to  examine  closely 
into  the  antecedents  of  a woman  who  pro- 
posed to  enter  a house  of  ill  fame,  and  to 
deter  her  from  her  purpose,  if  possible. 
Against  this  tendency  was  the  sentiment  of 
the  army,  which  has  generally  been  decidedly 
in  favor  of  a system  of  tolerated  vice.  The 
military  authorities  at  Berlin  pleaded  for  the 
removal  of  the  age  limitation  imposed  upon 
those  who  wished  to  enter  the  ranks  of  regis- 
tered prostitutes.^ 

After  the  “ glorious  victory  ” the  sentiment 
against  regulation  diminished.  In  1814  per- 
mission was  granted  to  register  minors,  al- 
though an  attempt  was  first  to  be  made  to 
induce  them  to  reform,  and  the  consent  of 
their  parents  was  to  be  secured.  Permission 
was  also  given  to  erect  a new  brothel  in  place 
of  one  that  had  failed,  and  to  transfer  the 
ownership  of  brothels.  The  consent  of  the 
police  was  of  course  to  be  secured. 

In  1829  a new  regulation  was  made,  with 
the  approval  of  the  ministry.  The  only  im- 
portant change  was  the  increased  frequency  of 

' Behrend,  op.  cit.,  go. 


In  Berlin  and  Other  Cities 


45 


sanitary  inspections.  According  to  the  new 
regulation,  they  were  to  be  made  twice  a week 
instead  of  once. 

At  this  time  there  were  thirty-three  licensed 
houses  in  Berlin,  These  were  pretty  well 
scattered  throughout  the  city.  There  was  no 
formal  restriction  as  to  their  location,  except- 
ing that  they  were  not  permitted  in  the  vicin- 
ity of  churches  and  schools,  or  on  crowded 
thoroughfares.  A considerable  number  of 
them,  however,  were  grouped  together  in  a 
small  street,  an  der  Konigsmauer.  This  street 
had  from  a very  early  date  been  noted  as  a 
haunt  of  vice. 

During  the  thirties,  citizens  who  possessed 
property  in  the  vicinity  of  brothels  began  to 
complain  to  the  police  and  the  ministry  of  the 
losses  they  suffered  in  consequence  of  the 
presence  of  vice,  and  to  petition  for  the  re- 
moval of  the  licensed  houses.  The  police 
authorities  paid  no  attention  to  the  petitions, 
but  in  1839  ^he  ministry,  again  hostile  to  police 
regulation,  ordered  the  removal  of  all  such 
houses  to  the  street  an  der  Konigsmauer. 
Accordingly,  all  were  removed  thither  except 
two.  Five  failed,  leaving  twenty-six  licensed 
houses  in  a street  containing  only  fifty-two 


46 


The  Social  Evil 


small  houses.  The  street  may  fairly  be  said 
to  have  been  abandoned  utterly  to  vice,  since 
its  remaining  inhabitants  were  largely  panders 
and  procurers,  together  with  the  workers  and 
small  traders  who  depended  for  support  upon 
the  custom  of  the  brothels. 

This  measure  was,  however,  very  far  from 
being  satisfactory.  It  is  a question  whether 
the  existence  of  isolated  brothels  in  various 
parts  of  the  city  was  as  demoralizing  as  the 
existence  of  a limited  quarter  in  which  vice 
ran  riot.  Whatever  may  be  said  of  the  de- 
moralizing effect  upon  respectable  society  of  a 
number  of  prostitutes  mingling  with  it,  there 
can  be  no  doubt  that  respectable  surroundings 
have  far  more  power  than  police  regulations  to 
keep  the  wanton  woman  from  displaying  the 
actual  degradation  of  her  character.  In  a 
limited  community  consisting  wholly  of  im- 
moral characters,  in  which  respectable  persons 
normally  appear  only  in  moments  of  immoral- 
ity, this  restraining  influence  is  absent.  An 
esprit  de  corps  is  created  which  is  highly  in- 
jurious to  public  morals  and  public  order.^ 
Furthermore,  the  existence  of  licensed  houses 
side  by  side  almost  inevitably  leads  to  an 

• Behrend,  op.  cit.,  114  et  seq. 


In  Berlin  and  Other  Cities 


47 


odious  competition  in  indecency  for  the  sake 
of  attracting  customers. 

From  the  point  of  view  of  sanitary  regula- 
tion, the  plan  was  not  successful.  While  the 
notoriety  of  the  quarter  naturally  attracted  the 
youthful  and  the  reckless,  the  bands  of  stu- 
dents and  apprentices,  the  strangers  bent  upon 
novelty,  the  publicity  of  it  deterred  those  who 
had  acquired  caution  without  acquiring  con- 
tinence, — the  greatest  resource  of  prostitu- 
tion. Hence  clandestine  prostitution  increased 
throughout  the  city.^ 

A further  result  of  the  grouping  of  licensed 
houses  was  increased  opposition  toward  any 
system  of  regulation  whatever.  The  agglom- 
eration upon  one  spot  of  so  much  vice  opened 
the  eyes  of  the  better  classes  to  the  extent  of 
the  evil.  Accounts,  exaggerated  beyond  all 
semblance  of  truth,  recalled  the  orgies  of  de- 
clining Rome.  The  abolition  sentiment  again 
gained  credit  with  the  higher  authorities,  and 
in  1843  the  ministry  issued  an  order  that  one 
half  of  the  brothels  an  der  Konigsmauer 
should  be  removed  beyond  the  Stadtmauer. 

’ This  does  not  mean  that  prostitution  in  general  increased.  It 
merely  means  that  the  relative  proportion  of  those  who  would  sub- 
mit to  regulation  declined. 


48 


The  Social  Evil 


All  were  to  be  subjected  to  close  surveillance, 
and  for  three  violations  of  the  regulations, 
whether  great  or  small,  they  were  to  be 
closed,  nor  were  others  to  be  opened  in  their 
place.  The  first  part  of  the  order  was  not 
carried  out,  as  the  police  declared  that  it  was 
impossible  to  find  a locality  which  would  re- 
ceive the  removed  houses.  Opportunity  was 
not  given  for  carrying  the  second  part  of  the 
order  into  effect,  as  an  order  of  the  Minister 
of  the  Interior,  issued  in  1844,  fixed  January 
I,  1846,  as  the  date  for  the  closing  of  all 
the  brothels  in  Berlin.  This  order  was  duly 
executed. 

It  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  a let-alone 
policy  was  adopted.  The  police  were  ordered 
to  take  all  needful  measures  for  public  safety 
and  public  health.  Prostitutes  were  still  com- 
pelled to  submit  to  weekly  medical  inspec- 
tions. A register  was  kept  showing  the  state 
of  health  of  the  women,  but  no  control-book 
was  given  them,  and  it  was  to  be  impressed 
upon  them  that  they  were  not  licensed,  but 
merely  tolerated.  Clandestine  prostitution 
was  still  subject  to  severe  punishment.  Doubt- 
less the  police  enforced  the  changed  regula- 
tions with  no  very  great  enthusiasm  ; but,  so 


In  Berlin  and  Other  Cities 


49 


far  as  the  formal  regulations  were  concerned, 
the  only  change  was  the  abolition  of  the 
brothel  and  its  replacement  by  tolerated  pros- 
titution at  large.  There  is  no  ground  what- 
ever for  the  notion  that  all  sanitary  control 
was  abandoned  in  1846. 

At  the  instigation  of  the  military  authorities, 
the  licensed  houses  were  opened  again  in  1851. 
The  Penal  Code  of  1850  imposed  the  penalty 
fixed  for  procuring  upon  anyone  who  should 
act  as  a mediator  for  professional  vice  or  lend 
his  aid  to  vicious  practices.^ 

Another  section,  however,  implied  the  right 
on  the  part  of  the  police  to  make  needful  reg- 
ulations for  the  preservation  of  public  health 
and  public  order,^ 

It  was  upon  the  latter  section  that  the 
police  based  the  right  of  reopening  the  broth- 
els. In  1856,  however,  a decision  of  the  Ober- 
tribunal  of  Prussia  pronounced  the  brothel 
an  illegal  institution,  whereupon  the  licensed 
houses  of  Berlin  were  definitely  closed.® 

The  “ service  of  morals  ” as  reorganized  in 
1850  and  again  in  1876  did  not  differ  essen- 


* Sec.  J46.  ■ Sec.  i^j. 

* Blaschko,  Conference  internationale,  Brussels,  i8gg  ; EnquHes, 

i.,  662. 

4 


50 


The  Social  Evil 


tially  from  the  system  now  in  force.  We  may 
accordingly  pass  at  once  to  the  existing  regu- 
lations. The  sanitary  feature  is  paramount. 
The  registration  of  prostitutes  is  merely  aux- 
iliary to  sanitary  control,  since  it  is  absolutely 
necessary  to  register  the  women  of  loose  life 
if  they  are  to  be  subjected  to  periodical  ex- 
amination. A woman  may  be  registered  either 
at  her  own  request  or  by  the  order  of  the 
chief  of  the  police  bureau.  The  police  arrest 
any  woman  whom  they  have  reason  to  suspect 
of  clandestine  prostitution.  The  grounds  of 
such  arrest  may  be  direct  observation  by  the 
special  police  agents  of  the  service  of  morals, 
the  denunciation  of  private  persons,  of  regis- 
tered prostitutes,  or  of  men  who  believe  them- 
selves to  be  contaminated  by  the  woman  in 
question.  When  arrested,  she  is  subjected  to 
a physical  examination,  and  if  found  to  be 
diseased  the  police  assume  the  power  to  place 
her  upon  the  register.  If  she  is  not  diseased, 
she  receives  a “kindly  warning.”  In  the 
warning-formula,  especial  emphasis  is  laid  upon 
the  fact  that  a second  arrest  would  mean  com- 
pulsory registration.  It  is  assumed  that  if  a 
mistake  has  been  made  in  the  first  arrest,  the 
woman  arrested  will  take  such  pains  to  avoid 


In  Berlin  and  Other  Cities 


51 


further  suspicion  that  a second  mistake  would 
be  practically  impossible. 

Once  registered,  prostitutes  are  required  to 
report  every  week  at  the  public  dispensary  for 
sanitary  examination.  Failure  to  do  so  is 
punishable  by  imprisonment,  the  maximum 
sentence  being  six  weeks.  Examinations  and 
treatment  are  gratuitous. 

Every  registered  prostitute  must  give  satis- 
factory information  as  to  age  and  antecedents. 
Minors  are  not,  as  a rule,  permitted  to  register. 

There  are  of  course  numerous  detailed  reg- 
ulations with  regard  to  the  localities  where 
prostitutes  may  not  appear,  and  with  regard 
to  the  manner  in  which  they  must  deport 
themselves.  These  it  is  unnecessary  to  discuss 
here. 

Comparison  of  Reglementation  Systems  of 
Paris  and  Berlin. — If  we  compare  the  systems 
of  Paris  and  of  Berlin,  we  find  that  they  do  not 
differ  greatly  in  essence.  In  both  of  them 
prostitutes  are  treated  as  a special  class,  bear- 
ing a relation  to  the  common  law  essentially 
different  from  that  of  other  members  of  society. 
A renowned  Erench  lawyer  has  clearly  defined 
this  point  of  view  by  declaring  that  prostitution 
is  a status  in  the  same  sense  that  the  army  is  a 


52 


The  Social  Evil 


status,  and,  just  as  is  the  case  with  the  army, 
prostitutes  may  be  subjected  to  regulations 
that  would  be  tyrannical  if  applied  to  the 
ordinary  citizend 

In  Berlin  this  manner  of  regarding  prostitu- 
tion has  been  handed  down  from  the  Middle 
Ages,  and  may  be  considered  a survival  of  a 
social  system  in  which  any  body  of  individuals 
could  be  treated  as  a special  status.  In  Paris 
it  has  rather  grown  up  as  a result  of  the  exi- 
gencies of  police  administration. 

In  both  cities  the  need  is  recognized  of  a 

o 

special  body  of  police,  acting  with  large  dis- 
cretionary powers.  In  both  cities  the  sanitary 
features  of  control  are  paramount ; neverthe- 
less, public  order,  decency  and  morals  receive 
a certain  attention.  The  Berlin  authorities 
act,  perhaps,  with  greater  freedom  in  imposing 
registration  upon  prostitutes  who  will  not 
submit  to  it  voluntarily.  This  is  probably 
owing  to  the  greater  legal  authority  which  the 
Berlin  police  possess. 

Much  regard  has  been  usually  paid  to  the 
fact  that  in  Paris  it  is  the  policy  of  the  police 
to  confine  prostitution  to  licensed  houses,  while 
in  Berlin  the  brothel  is  absolutely  prohibited. 

’ M.  Dupin,  cited  by  Lecour,  op.  cit.,  41. 


In  Berlin  and  Other  Cities 


53 


How  unimportant  this  feature  is  may  be  under- 
stood from  the  fact  that  not  one  tenth  of  the 
registered  prostitutes  of  Paris  live  in  licensed 
houses/  In  practice,  the  administrations  of 
the  two  cities  have  exactly  the  same  problem 
to  deal  with. 

There  are,  of  course,  innumerable  minor 
regulations  that  show  certain  differences  in 
policy.  I'hese,  however,  are  of  small  interest 
to  anyone  except  the  officials  who  have  to 
administer  the  systems. 

Finally,  the  sanitary  service  does  not  differ 
in  essence.  It  is  true  that  all  examinations 
in  Berlin  are  held  in  public  offices  designed 
for  that  purpose,  while  in  Paris  those  who 
live  in  licensed  houses  are  examined  at  their 
domicile.  This  difference  is  of  small  signifi- 
cance, since  the  proportion  of  brothel  inmates 
is  so  insignificant.  In  Berlin  examinations  are 
weekly,  in  Paris  fortnightly.  Examination 
and  treatment  are  gratuitous  in  both  cities. 

Regulation  in  Other  European  Cities. — A 
study  of  the  evolution  of  regulation  in  other 
European  cities  would  reveal  but  few  new 

* In  1897,  out  of  about  6000  registered  prostitutes  only  490  lived  in 
licensed  houses. — Dr.  Ozenne,  Conference  internationale,  Brussels, 
1899  ; Enquetes,  i.,  146. 


54 


The  Social  Evil 


features.  Regulation  has  in  general  grown 
out  of  repressive  legislation.  Inability  to 
enforce  stringent  measures  against  vice  has 
generally  given  the  policy  of  the  police  an 
arbitrary  character  that  was  easily  changed 
into  discretionary  power.  Sanitary  features 
have  been  grafted  upon  systems  of  tacit  tolera- 
tion. As  a rule,  Paris  and  Berlin  have  served 
as  models  in  this  respect.  Later  systems,  as 
the  regulations  of  Italy,  were  modelled  after 
that  of  Brussels,  which  in  turn  is  in  essence  a 
copy  of  the  Parisian  system. 

It  may,  perhaps,  be  worth  while  to  touch  upon 
a few  of  the  peculiar  features  to  be  found 
in  some  of  the  other  cities  of  Europe.  Thus 
we  find  in  Bremen  the  plan  of  confining  pros- 
titution to  a single  small  street,  which  is  so 
situated  as  to  be  easily  controlled  by  the 
police.  Prostitutes  found  elsewhere  are  ar- 
rested and  punished  by  imprisonment.  This 
plan  has  been  partially  adopted  by  several 
other  of  the  smaller  German  cities.  A similar 
policy  is  pursued  in  some  of  the  smaller 
French  cities. 

No  very  large  city  has  adopted  such  a 
policy.  It  seems  probable  that  the  enormous 
proportions  such  a quarter  would  assume  in  a 


In  Berlin  and  Other  Cities 


55 


city  like  Paris  or  Berlin  would  be  a menace  to 
good  order  and  a centre  of  demoralization. 
Where  special  quarters  exist,  it  would  seem 
that  the  interest  of  property  owners  in  the 
vicinity  of  licensed  houses,  rather  than  a con- 
sideration of  the  moral  interests  of  the  com- 
munity as  a whole,  was  responsible  for  their 
creation. 

In  a large  number  of  the  cities  of  France, 
the  police  persist  in  attempting  to  confine 
prostitution  to  licensed  houses.  In  some 
cities  their  efforts  are  not  wholly  unsuccess- 
ful. Thus  in  Marseilles  the  licensed  houses 
hold  their  own.  In  other  cities  these  houses 
are  constantly  declining.  These  differences 
are  to  be  explained  by  the  character  of  the 
clientage  of  prostitution.  Where  strangers 
are  numerous,  where  sailors  are  accustomed 
to  land,  the  licensed  house  thrives.  It  is  the 
“ law  of  supply  and  demand  ” that  decides 
whether  the  efforts  of  the  police  can  be  fruitful 
or  not. 

Vienna  presents  several  peculiarities  in  the 
system  of  regulation  of  vice.  The  Morals 
police  and  the  Sanitary  police  are  under  dif- 
ferent authorities.  The  supervision  of  public 
morals  falls  in  the  province  of  the  Imperial 


5^ 


The  Social  Evil 


police,  while  for  the  sanitary  control  the  mu- 
nicipal authorities  are  responsible.  As  a con- 
sequence, there  is  a lack  of  harmony,  the 
Sanitary  police  attempting  to  increase  as  far 
as  possible  the  number  of  public  prostitutes, 
the  Morals  police  attempting  to  limit  it.  Ex- 
aminations of  licensed  women  are  made  by  or- 
dinary physicians,  designated  by  the  police. 
They  are  made  either  at  the  domicile  of  the 
physician  or  at  that  of  the  woman.  They  are 
thus  designed  to  give  as  little  publicity  to  the 
activities  of  police  control  as  circumstances 
allow. 

Extent  of  Regulation. — Regulation  of  vice 
is  still  properly  in  the  experimental  stage. 
Many  believe,  it  is  true,  that  its  salutary  ef- 
fects are  not  to  be  challenged  ; others  afhrm 
that  no  such  effects  are  to  be  found.  It  is 
accordingly  necessary,  as  preliminary'  to  ex- 
amining the  evidence  as  to  the  efficacy  of 
regulation,  to  consider  the  extent  of  existing 
regulations. 

In  the  first  place,  practically  all  the  cities 
and  large  towns  of  France  have  systems  of 
regulation  much  like  that  of  Paris.  So  also 
have  the  cities  of  Belgium.  German  cities,  as 
a rule,  regulate  vice.  Hungary  has  what  is 


In  Berlin  and  Other  Cities 


57 


considered  an  efficient  system  ; Austrian  cities 
regulate  vice,  but  in  no  very  efficient  way. 
For  the  last  half  century,  Russian  cities  have 
persistently  striven  to  keep  prostitution  under 
sanitary  control.  From  the  time  of  the  union 
of  Italy  down  to  1888,  the  larger  Italian  cities 
had  a system  of  regulation  modelled  after  that 
of  Brussels.  The  Scandinavian  states,  with 
the  exception  of  Norway,  regulate  vice  in 
their  largest  cities ; so  also  do  Spain  and 
Portugal.  From  1866  until  1883,  England 
tried  the  experiment  of  regulation  in  twelve 
districts  in  England  and  two  in  Ireland.  In 
these  stations  prostitutes  were  registered  and 
subjected  to  periodic  sanitary  inspection,  and 
if  diseased  were  detained  in  lock-hospitals 
until  cured. 

Outside  of  Europe  similar  regulations  have 
been  put  in  force.  The  most  notorious  were 
the  regulations  in  India  during  the  time  of 
the  Contagious  Diseases  Acts.  Hong  Kong 
also  presented  a system  of  regulation.  In 
Japan  prostitutes  are  confined  to  special  quar- 
ters and  are  subjected  to  periodic  examina- 
tions. Finally,  mention  may  be  made  of  the 
one  experiment  in  our  own  country,  in  St. 
Louis,  1870-1873. 


CHAPTER  V 


THE  SANITARY  ASPECT  OF  MODERN  REGULATION 

The  effect  of  vice  upon  the  physical  health 
of  the  community  is  receiving  at  present  more 
attention  than  any  other  feature  of  the  prob- 
lem. Reglementists  and  abolitionists  alike 
test  their  systems  by  the  effect  upon  venereal 
disease.  Nothing  could  be  more  natural,  since 
it  has  at  last  become  clear  to  almost  everyone 
that  venereal  diseases  are  frightfully  common 
in  every  civilized  country.  Moreover,  recent 
progress  in  medical  science  has  demonstrated 
the  fact  that  the  diseases  that  have  long  been 
known  to  be  the  immediate  effects  of  vice  by 
no  means  make  up  the  sum  of  the  cost  in 
health  that  results  from  it.  Many  constitu- 
tional maladies  that  were  formerly  ascribed  to 
entirely  different  causes  have  recently  been 
shown  to  be  of  venereal  origin. 

Unfortunately,  it  is  impossible  to  form  even 
an  approximately  correct  idea  of  the  actual  ex- 
tent of  the  ravag-es  of  venereal  disease.  One 

o 


58 


Sanitary  Aspect  of  Regulation  59 


medical  congress  after  another  has  urged  the 
necessity  of  adequate  statistics  of  venereal  dis- 
ease ; but  up  to  the  present  very  little  has 
been  accomplished  in  this  direction.  In  Nor- 
way alone  are  private  physicians  required  by 
law  to  furnish  reports  of  the  cases  treated  by 
them.  Everywhere  else  it  is  necessary  to  de- 
duce the  facts  in  question  from  the  statistics 
of  limited  classes,  such  as  the  army  and  the 
navy,  to  piece  together  hospital  records,  or  to 
depend  upon  the  estimates  of  individual 
physicians.^ 

We  may  take  as  a starting-point  the  Nor- 
wegian statistics,  since,  with  all  their  imperfec- 
tions, they  are  the  most  complete  in  existence. 

In  Christiania,  a city  of  over  two  hundred 
thousand  inhabitants,  during  the  period  from- 
1879  to  1898,  the  yearly  number  of  cases  of 
venereal  diseases  of  all  kinds  reported  have 
ranged  generally  between  ten  and  fifteen  per 
thousand  of  population.  The  minimum  was 
5.7  in  1888;  the  maximum  was  20.7  in  1882. 

’ The  Medical  Department  of  Prussia  has  within  the  last  year  un- 
dertaken to  secure  statistics  of  venereal  disease  in  the  State  of  Prus- 
sia. A circular  was  issued  by  the  Minister,  April  30,  1901,  requesting 
all  physicians  to  report  all  cases  treated  by  them  during  the  current 
year. — Bulletin  de  la  Soci/td  Internationale  de  Prophylaxie  Sanitaire 
et  Morale,  Tome  i.,  No.  3. 


6o 


The  Social  Evil 


Of  these,  about  two-fifths  are  cases  of  gonor- 
rhcea ; rather  more  than  three-tenths  are  cases 
of  syphilis. 

For  the  whole  of  Norway  during  the  same 
period,  the  number  of  cases  of  venereal  dis- 
ease has  varied  from  2.14  per  thousand  in  1889 
to  3.55  in  1882.^ 

These  figures  are  unquestionably  too  low. 
Many  cases  of  disease  are  naturally  treated  by 
quacks,  or  by  the  patients  themselves  accord- 
ing to  recipes  borrowed  from  comrades. 
Again,  although  there  is  a law  compelling 
every  physician  to  report  all  cases,  it  is  impos- 
sible to  enforce  such  a law.  The  only  motive 
that  would  induce  a physician  to  comply  with 
the  law  is  scientific  interest. 

While  cases  of  hereditary  syphilis  are  re- 
ported, it  is  obvious  that  many  will  escape 
through  insufficient  scientific  knowledge  on  the 
part  of  practising  physicians.  Finally,  there  is 
no  place  for  the  legacy  of  criminality,  idiocy 
and  other  forms  of  degeneracy  that  venereal 
disease  entails  upon  society. 

On  the  other  hand,  many  of  the  persons  dis- 
eased may  be  treated  for  several  maladies  dur- 
ing the  same  year,  or  for  different  phases  of 

’ Holst,  Conf^ence Internationale,  Brussels,  1899;  Enquetes,  i.,  126. 


Sanitary  Aspect  of  Regulation  6i 


the  same  disease.  Especially  would  this  be 
true  of  prostitutes,  who  are,  of  course,  included 
in  the  population  at  large.  This  would  tend 
to  make  the  number  of  venereally  diseased 
seem  greater  than  it  actually  is.  Sufferers 
from  such  diseases  are  very  apt  to  change  their 
physicians  ; and  this  also  would  tend  to  make 
the  figures  too  large. 

Accordingly,  these  statistics  can  be  consid- 
ered as  an  indication  only  of  the  actual  extent 
of  disease.  Nevertheless,  it  seems  true  that 
far  the  greater  proportion  of  the  ills  resulting 
from  vice  are  recognizable  by  competent  phy- 
sicians. Christiania  is  a city  in  which,  for  half 
a century,  much  attention  has  been  given  to 
combating  venereal  disease.  It  may  be  as- 
sumed, then,  that  its  physicians  will  generally 
have  interest  enough  to  report  cases  of  disease 
according  to  law. 

Where  military  service  is  compulsory,  the 
state  of  health  of  the  army  will  show  something 
as  to  the  extent  of  disease  in  population,  since 
every  able-bodied  adult  male  must  serve.  The 
following  table  will  show  the  extent  of  venereal 
diseases  in  various  European  armies  ^ : 

’ Blaschko,  Conference  Internationale,  Brussels,  1899  ; Enquites, 
i.,  681. 


62 


The  Social  Evil 


German 

F rench 

Austrian 

Italian 

per  1000 

per  1000 

per  1000 

per  1000 

1881-86 

35-1 

58.2 

73.6 

102.9 

1886-91 

27.1 

51.1 

65.3 

94.3 

1891-96 

29.1 

56.7 

61.0 

84.9 

As  data 

for  estimating  the  general 

preva- 

lence  of  disease,  these  figures  are,  of  course,  to 
be  used  with  a good  deal  of  caution.  The 
pay  of  the  soldiers,  the  character  of  the  disci- 
pline, the  location  of  the  barracks,  and  a num- 
ber of  other  considerations  must  be  allowed 
for  before  one  can  venture  to  affirm  that 
venereal  diseases  are  more  common  in  Italy 
than  in  Germany.  It  is  to  be  expected  that 
disease  will  be  much  more  frequent  among 
soldiers  than  among  citizens,  owing  to  the 
fact  that  the  soldiers  are  young  and  unmar- 
ried, free  from  arduous  exertion,  and  exposed 
to  the  demoralizing  influences  that  always 
pervade  military  bodies. 

When  an  army  consists  of  volunteers,  as 
the  British  army,  statistics  of  venereal  disease 
cease  to  have  any  value  as  an  indication  of 
the  general  state  of  health.  It  is  not  the 
typical  British  citizen  who  enlists  in  time  of 
peace. 

Where  large  standing  armies  do  not  exist, 
it  is  necessary  to  rely  upon  the  records  of 


Sanitary  Aspect  of  Regulation  63 


hospitals  and  the  estimates  of  physicians. 
The  records  of  hospitals  are  worth  little,  as 
but  a fraction  of  the  diseased  ever  apply  for 
admission.  The  estimates  of  physicians  are 
of  course  mere  guesses,  most  often  evolved 
in  the  heat  of  argument,  and  hence  worth 
practically  nothing. 

But  however  imperfect  the  data  for  estimat- 
ing the  true  extent  of  the  evil  may  be,  they 
are  sufficient  to  justify  the  opinion  that  vene- 
real disease  is  one  of  the  most  serious  that 
menace  public  health,  and  that  no  less  ener- 
getic measures  should  be  taken  to  stamp  it 
out  than  are  employed  to  check  the  ravages 
of  other  serious  contagious  diseases.  Even 
if  the  shame  and  suffering  which  these  mala- 
dies cause  the  individual  are  left  out  of  ac- 
count, there  is  no  question  that  the  burden 
which  they  impose  upon  society  at  large  is  a 
heavy  one.  Even  if  they  do  not  utterly  wreck 
the  health  of  the  individual,  they  impair  his 
industrial  efficiency  and  increase  the  chance  of 
his  becoming  a burden  upon  society.  In  the 
long  contest  for  survival  among  different  na- 
tions, a high  percentage  of  venereal  diseases 
is  a most  serious  handicap  for  any  country. 
It  is  the  duty  of  a community  to  do  every- 


64 


The  Social  Evil 


thing  in  its  power  to  disembarrass  itself  of 
them. 

But  the  question  whether  society  owes  it  to 
the  individual  to  protect  him  from  venereal 
infection  has  long  been  a subject  of  bitter 
controversy.  It  is  a common  idea  that,  since 
such  maladies  are  generally  the  result  of  im- 
moral acts,  the  persons  infected  receive  merely 
their  due.  They  have  knowingly  exposed 
themselves  to  the  danger  ; they  have  violated 
social  laws  in  order  to  do  so ; let  them  take 
the  consequences. 

Another  view,  one  which  bears  the  stamp 
of  modern  evolutionary  science,  recognizes  the 
fact  that  there  are  individuals  so  constituted 
as  to  be  unable  to  control  their  animal  in- 
stincts. These  are,  as  it  were,  fatally  devoted 
to  expose  themselves  to  contagion.  There  can 
be  no  talk  of  free  moral  agency  on  the  part  of 
such  persons  ; one  cannot  regard  the  misfor- 
tune that  befalls  them  as  a punishment  for 
their  acts.  Such  persons  are,  however,  unfit 
members  of  civilized  society,  and  venereal  dis- 
ease merely  acts  to  free  society  from  their 
presence. 

The  latter  view  is  the  more  easily  disposed  of. 
It  is  not  merely  the  incompetent,  the  degener- 


Sanitary  Aspect  of  Regulation  65 


ate,  the  brutal,  that  fall  victims  to  the  scourge 
of  syphilis.  The  upper  classes  and  the  lower 
suffer  alike.  In  Russian  cities,  it  is  said  to  be 
the  very  flower  of  the  youth,  the  young  men 
in  the  Universities,  who  are  most  frequently 
diseased.  Similar  observations  have  been 
made  with  regard  to  other  European  coun- 
tries. Doubtless  there  is  some  exaggeration 
in  such  statements  as  these.  But  any  prac- 
tising physician  will  bear  witness  to  the  fact 
that  among  his  patients  the  “unfit”  form  no 
considerable  fraction. 

The  other  view  deserves  more  extended 
consideration.  It  is  an  undeniable  fact  that, 
in  the  great  majority  of  cases,  venereal  dis- 
ease is  contracted  as  the  result  of  a voluntary 
act, — an  act  known  by  everyone  to  be  im- 
moral. It  is  only  natural  to  regard  disease  as 
a penalty  for  vicious  conduct.  In  this  respect 
there  is  certainly  a valid  distinction  between 
venereal  diseases  on  the  one  hand  and  all 
other  contagious  or  infectious  diseases  on  the 
other.  An  individual  has  a right  to  demand 
all  possible  protection  from  evils  which  he 
cannot  avoid  ; his  right  to  protection  from 
dangers  which  he  voluntarily  encounters  is 
not  so  clear. 


66 


The  Social  Evil 


Yet  it  is  easy  to  carry  the  principle  of  per- 
sonal responsibility  for  voluntary  acts  to  an 
unwarranted  extreme.  The  boy  who  yields 
to  immoral  impulses  does  not  deserve  the 
same  penalty  that  falls  upon  the  man  of 
matured  intelligence  who  lapses  from  virtue. 
The  influence  of  the  environment  must  be 
taken  into  account  in  judging  the  degree  of 
personal  responsibility.  Now,  it  is  well  known 
that  venereal  disease  is  frequently  contracted 
at  a very  early  age.  A considerable  portion 
of  the  syphilitics  treated  in  hospitals  are  boys 
still  in  their  teens.  Probably  a majority  of 
all  sufferers  from  syphilis  are  infected  before 
the  twenty-sixth  year.^ 

The  penalty  of  disease,  then,  falls  most 
heavily  upon  those  who  are  least  responsible 
for  their  acts.  Accordingly,  it  is  easy  to  see 
why  many  thinkers  who  are  not  in  the  least 
inclined  to  condone  immorality  look  upon 
sanitary  control  of  vice  as  of  paramount  im- 
portance. So  long  as  society  permits  men  to 
grow  up  in  an  environment  inimical  to  virtue, 

' Of  10,000  syphilitics  who  came  under  the  observation  of  Professor 
Fournier,  817  had  been  infected  before  the  twentieth  year,  and 
5130  between  twenty-one  and  twenty-six. — Conference  InterTiationale, 
Brussels,  1899  ; Rapports  Preiirninaires,  41. 


Sanitary  Aspect  of  Regulation  67 


they  argue,  it  is  idle  to  hold  them  strictly 
accountable  for  their  conduct,  and  inhuman  to 
permit  them  to  suffer  from  diseases  which 
might  be  prevented  by  systematic  sanitary 
regulation. 

There  is  one  further  fact  which  would  seem 
to  condemn  the  public  policy  of  ignoring  ve- 
nereal diseases.  Great  numbers  of  people 
suffer  from  them  by  no  moral  fault  of  their 
own.  It  is,  perhaps,  not  as  well  known  as  it 
should  be,  that  men  frequently  transmit  to 
their  wives  diseases  contracted  in  their  youth 
and  folly,  of  which  they  believed  them- 
selves to  be  quite  cured.  It  requires  much 
moral  cold-bloodedness  to  take  the  stand 
that  this  is  merely  a matter  between  husband 
and  wife,  with  which  society  has  nothing  to 
do.^ 

Account  must  also  be  taken  of  the  children 
brought  into  the  world  with  the  curse  of 
hideous  disease  upon  them ; of  the  nurse 
contaminated  by  the  child  she  nurtures  ; of  the 
child  diseased  through  its  nurse ; and  of  the 

' Professor  Fournier  found  that  of  one  hundred  women  infected 
with  syphilis,  twenty  had  been  contaminated  by  their  husbands. — 
Conference  Internationale^  Brussels,  1899  ; Rapports  Preiiminaires, 
i.,  13.  See  also  Flesch,  Prostitution  und  Frauenkrankheiten. 


68 


The  Social  Evil 


numbers  of  persons  who  are  infected  by  ac- 
cidental contact/ 

* In  some  places,  syphilitic  disease  is  regularly  contracted  in  such 
ways.  According  to  the  data  at  hand,  as  much  as  8o  per  cent, 
of  the  syphilis  among  the  Russian  rural  population  is  contracted 
thus.  Even  in  the  city  population,  extra-genital  infection  is  respon- 
sible for  from  1.5  to  3 per  cent.  This  does  not  include  hereditary 
syphilis. — O.  V.  Petersen,  Conference  Internationale,  Brussels,  1899  ; 
Enquites,  i.,  264. 


CHAPTER  VI 


THE  MORAL  ASPECT  OF  REGULATION 

The  prominence  given  in  recent  discussion 
to  the  sanitary  evils  that  result  from  un- 
checked and  unregulated  prostitution  has 
obscured,  to  a certain  extent,  the  fact  that 
there  are  greater  evils  than  physical  disease 
connected  with  vice.  One  who  subscribes  to 
the  dictum,  “ Disease  is  a great  evil,  but  vice 
is  a greater,”  is  almost  certain  to  be  subjected 
to  the  scorn  of  many  practical  men.  Yet, 
when  the  controversial  spirit  subsides,  all 
rational  men  will  admit  the  gravity  of  vice, 
quite  apart  from  its  hygienic  consequences. 
The  history  of  decadent  Greece  and  Rome 
will  show  to  what  depths  of  imbecility  and 
shame  it  may  cause  a nation  to  fall.  There 
can  be  no  greater  mistake  than  to  believe  that 
the  impulses  that  lead  to  vice  are  constant 
and  invariable,  capable  of  complete  satiation. 
They  grow  with  feeding ; if  they  are  wearied 
with  one  kind  of  satisfaction,  they  seek  not 

69 


70 


The  Social  Evil 


rest,  but  variety.  This  fact,  rather  than  any 
other,  will  account  for  the  hideous  forms  of 
vice  that  disfigured  ancient  society.  One 
does  not  need  a revealed  religion  or  a subtle 
moral  philosophy  to  teach  him  that  unre- 
strained vice  results  in  mental  and  moral  dis- 
ease and  degeneracy  far  more  hideous  and  far 
more  dangerous  to  society  than  any  form  of 
physical  disease. 

Accordingly,  if  it  is  a dangerous  policy  for 
government  to  ignore  the  existence  of  venereal 
diseases  and  to  neglect  any  possible  means 
for  preventing  them,  it  is  a still  more  danger- 
ous policy  to  ignore  vice  and  to  permit  it  to 
grow  unchecked.  To  limit  the  number  of 
those  who  seek  vicious  pleasures,  and  to  pre-  ^ 
vent  the  furnishing  of  such  pleasures  to  those 
who  are  inclined  to  seek  them,  is  one  of  the 
first  duties  of  good  government. 

There  is  a widely-prevalent  opinion  that  the 
moral  task  is  too  great  for  Government  to 
undertake,  while  sanitary  improvements  may 
be  easily  brought  about ; accordingly,  it  is 
expedient  to  limit  governmental  activity  to 
the  comparatively  narrow  field  of  sanitar}^ 
regulation.  Those  who  hold  this  view  lose 
sight  of  the  fact  that  humanity  is  not  divided 


The  Moral  Aspect  of  Regulation  71 


into  two  classes,  the  virtuous  and  the  vicious, 
but  that  in  it  is  represented  every  degree  of 
virtue  and  vice,  from  the  purest  to  the  most 
utterly  depraved.  There  will  probably  always 
be  men  who  are  swayed  solely  by  animal  pas- 
sions, and  it  would  be  vain  to  hope  to  make  \ 
them  virtuous  by  legislative  enactment.  There  ' 
will  always  be  women  who  fall  willing  vic- 
tims to  vice,  whom  no  governmental  vigilance 
could  save.  A great  part  of  vice  withdraws 
itself  as  completely  from  social  control  as  do  V' 
a man’s  secret  thoughts.  The  fact  remains 
that  the  greater  part  of  humanity  stands  mid- 
way between  the  two  extremes  and  may  be^ 
improved  or  degraded  in  morals  by  circum- 
stances which  lie  within  the  control  of  society. 

Indeed,  it  is  almost  inexplicable  that  anyone 
should  doubt  that  a more  rational  system  of 
education,  better  housing  conditions,  the  sup^ 
pression  of  flagrant  incitement  to  vice,  and  the 
dissociating  of  vice  from  legitimate  amuse- 
ment would  diminish  the  number  of  patrons 
of  prostitution,  and  would  limit  the  extent  to 
which  the  remainder  indulge  in  illicit  pleasures. 
The  improvement  in  morals  could  not,  of 
course,  be  very  pronounced  in  its  effects.  A 
large  part  of  the  gain  could  appear  only  in  a 


72 


The  Social  Evil 


succeeding  generation,  yit  would  certainly  be 
worth  none  the  less  for  that.  It  may  be  re- 
marked that  there  is  hardly  a reputable  de- 
fender of  sanitary  regulation  who  does  not  at 
the  same  time  advocate  measures  of  moral 
reform.  The  influence  of  pernicious  surround- 
ings in  promoting  immorality  is  everywhere 
recognized.  Some  writers  expect  much  good 
from  measures  that  tend  to  promote  morality 
among  men,  but  believe  that  nothing  can  be 
done  to  diminish  the  number  of  women  who 
lead  immoral  lives.  This  is  the  view  of 
Tarnowsky.  It  rests  upon  the  theory  of  the 
innate  perversity  of  all  prostitutes,  a theory 
which  is  not  borne  out  by  the  facts.  Without 
doubt,  congenital  perverts  do  exist  among 
women.  But  there  is  no  reason  for  believing 
that  they  form  more  than  a negligible  fraction 
of  the  entire  number  of  prostitutes. 

A very  large  number  of  prostitutes  begin 
their  career  of  shame  when  mere  children. 
They  may  be  the  victims  of  procurers,  or  they 
may  drift  into  vice  without  the  deliberate  in- 
citement of  any  person  who  expects  to  profit 
from  their  shame.  In  any  case,  they  can  hardly 
be  held  responsible  for  their  vicious  conduct. 

It  is  a disgrace  to  civilization  that  panders 


The  Moral  Aspect  of  Regulation  73 


are  still  permitted  to  betray  neglected  children 
and  to  take  part  of  their  earnings.  In  every 
large  city  those  who  have  been  attracted  into 
prostitution  before  they  were  old  enough  to  be 
responsible  for  their  acts  make  up  a very  large 
proportion  of  the  total  numberof  viciouswomen. 

It  is  undoubtedly  true  that  a chronic  state  of 
poverty  has  a powerful  influence  in  impelling 
women  to  accept  a vicious  life.  Society  has 
up  to  the  present  time  proven  unable  to  solve 
the  problem  of  poverty  ; and  until  that  problem 
is  solved,  there  is  little  reason  to  believe  that 
there  will  cease  to  be  a class  of  women,  not 
necessarily  congenitally  defective,  who  will 
choose  a life  of  vice.  But  there  are  in  every 
large  city  classes  of  working  women  whose 
normal  income  is  sufficient  to  permit  them  to 
live  honorable  lives,  but  who  are  left  at  times 
of  temporary  depression  with  no  means  of 
escaping  from  starvation  except  prostitution.^ 

It  is  easily  conceivable  that  society  could 
furnish  temporary  relief  to  such  unfortunates 

’ According  to  Conference  Ititernationale,  Brtissels,  1899  ; 

Enquetes,  i.,  676,  occasional  prostitution  far  surpasses  in  extent  pro- 
fessional prostitution  in  the  great  industrial  centres  of  Germany. 
In  such  cities  prostitution  increases  or  diminishes  inversely  as  em- 
ployment in  industry.  In  St.  Petersburg  it  is  common  for  domestics 
to  practise  prostitution  vi'hen  out  of  employment  and  to  cease  from 
it  when  work  is  offered. — Stilrmer,  Die  Proslitntioji  in  Russland,  76. 


74 


The  Social  Evil 


and  thus  diminish,  to  an  appreciable  extent,  the 
volume  of  feminine  vice. 

Again,  there  still  remains  a class  of  women 
who  are  abducted  and  forced  into  prostitution 
by  physical  violence.  The  fact  that  they 
sooner  or  later  accept  their  fate  is  the  only  thing 
that  can  account  for  the  indifference  of  society 
towdrd  such  a shameful  condition.  This  is  cer- 
tainly a factor  within  the  control  of  Government. 

The  possibilities  of  moral  regulation  are  by 
no  means  exhausted  when  society  has  done  all 
in  its  power  to  prevent  women  from  entering 
upon  a life  of  shame.  It  is  a long-exploded 
fallacy  that  a woman  who  has  once  fallen  must 
always  remain  in  the  lowest  degradation  of 
vice.  Of  the  great  numbers  who  have  fallen 
through  need  or  thoughtlessness,  probably  the 
majority  are  striving  to  rise  out  of  the  mire, 
^t  is  a commonplace  that  modern  prostitution, 
viewed  as  a whole,  is  a temporary,  not  a per-V^ 
manent  state.  After  a few  years  of  shame  the 
greater  number  of  these  women  return  to 
honorable  employment,  mari^",  or  become  kept 
mistresses,^  a station  degraded  enough,  to  be 

* Ehlers,  Confirence  Intertiationale,  Brussels,  1899  ; Enquetes,  i., 

98  et  seq.  j Schmolder,  Conference  International,  Brussels,  1899; 
Rapports  Prlliminaires  j Jeannel,  La  Prostitution  dans  les  grandes 
Villes  du  dixneuvilme  Sihle,  263. 


The  Moral  Aspect  of  Regulation  75 


sure,  but  infinitely  less  degraded  than  that  of 
the  public  prostitute. 

Even  among  the  registered  prostitutes  of 
large  European  cities,  there  are  many  who  are 
each  year  liberated  from  the  control  of  the 
police,  on  the  ground  that  they  have  ceased  to 
prostitute  themselves.  Thus,  in  Copenhagen, 
from  1871  to  1896,  twenty  per  cent,  of  the 
registered  prostitutes  were  cancelled  from  the 
register  because  of  marriage,  thirteen  per  cent 
returned  to  their  relatives,  and  ten  per  cent, 
were  taken  in  charge  by  private  persons  (insti- 
tutions, etc.).^  Of  course,  this  would  be  much 
more  frequently  the  case  with  occasional  pros- 
titutes, who  have  not  formed  the  habits  of  a 
vicious  life. 

When  the  fact  that  prostitutes  can  and  do 
reform  is  taken  into  account,  it  becomes  evi- 
dent that  Government  has  not  performed  all 
its  duty  as  a moralizing  force  until  it  has  done 
everything  in  its  power  to  make  reform  possible 
for  those  who  desire  it.  The  very  least  that 
common  morality  can  demand  is  that  no  ob-|^ 
Stacie  should  be  placed  in  the  way  of  the  unfor-*^ 
tunates  who  are  struggling  to  reform. 

* Ehlers,  Conference  Internationale^  Brussels^  1899;  EnquiteSy  i., 

121. 


CHAPTER  VII 


FUNDAMENTAL  OPPOSITION  BETWEEN  MORAL  AND 
SANITARY  CONTROL 

It  is  not  difficult  to  understand  that  the 
sanitary  and  moral  interests  in  the  control 
of  prostitution  cannot  be  wholly  in  harmony 
with  each  other.  Some  features  of  sanitary 
control  may  be  equally  salutary  morally,  and 
vice  versa.  Others  may  at  least  be  indifferent 
morally,  and  so  create  no  real  opposition  be- 
tween the  two  groups  of  interests.  But  un- 
questionably many  regulations  which  may  be 
very  good  from  a sanitary  point  of  view  are 
evil  from  the  point  of  view  of  morals.  And 
the  reverse  is  likewise  true. 

It  is  not  an  accident  that  in  Paris,  where  the 
sanitary  branch  of  the  service  has  been  grafted 
upon  the  Morals  Police  proper,  and  is  still 
subordinate  to  it,  there  should  be  constant 
friction  between  the  medical  men  and  the 
police.  The  police,  as  guardians  of  public 
morals,  do  not  find  it  possible  to  put  into  force 

76 


Moral  and  Sanitary  Control  77 


measures  that  the  physicians  consider  abso- 
lutely essential.  This  is  still  more  the  case  in 
Austria,  where  the  two  branches  are  indepen- 
dent of  each  other.  The  complaint  is  fre- 
quently made  by  the  sanitary  branch  that  the 
morals  branch  pursues  its  own  ends,  quite  re- 
gardless of  sanitary  considerations.  A learned 
Austrian  writer  has  laid  down  the  axiom  that 
the  less  the  attention  that  is  paid  to  public 
morality,  the  better  will  be  the  state  of  public 
health,  and  vice  versa} 

The  reason  for  this  opposition  lies  upon  the 
surface.  Since  venereal  diseases  are  always 
the  result  of  contagion,  it  is  evident  that  if  all 
those  who  are  diseased  could  be  isolated,  and 
kept  under  treatment  until  entirely  cured, 
venereal  disease  would  disappear.  But  it  is 
manifestly  impossible  to  discover  all  cases  of 
disease  in  the  general  population  and  to  treat 
the  patients  discovered  in  isolation.  Since, 
however,  venereal  disease  is  usually  directly  or 
indirectly  traceable  to  prostitution,  if  prosti- 
tutes could  be  kept  free  from  it,  it  would 
eventually  disappear  from  society.  To  attain 
this  end  it  would  be  necessary  to  discover 
every  case  of  disease  as  soon  as  it  appears, 

' Schrank,  Die  Prostitution  in  Wien,  ii.,  126. 


78 


The  Social  Evil 


and  to  confine  the  patient  until  the  disease  is 
wholly  cured.  And  this  implies,  of  course,  a 
rigid  police  control  over  every  woman  who 
sells  the  use  of  her  person,  whether  publicly 
or  not, — a control  sufficient  to  compel  her  to 
submit  to  very  frequent  sanitary  inspection, 
and  to  a long  and  tedious  imprisonment  when- 
ever she  is  infected  with  disease.  Naturally, 
the  most  violent  opposition  on  the  part  of 
the  prostitute  must  be  expected.  For  several 
reasons,  the  periodic  examinations  are  irksome 
to  her  ; still  more  irksome  is  compulsory  treat- 
ment, since  the  diseases  with  which  she  is 
infected  may  not  be  painful  to  her,  and  she 
cares  not  a whit  whether  she  transmits  them 
to  her  clients  or  not, — no  more  than  do  her 
clients  care  whether  they  transmit  disease  to 
her.  According  to  this  system  of  regulation, 
the  police  would  treat  her  much  as  a chattel, 
and  would  keep  her  in  good  health  for  her 
clients’  sake. 

It  is  the  habit  of  many  who  advocate  such  a 
system  of  regulation  to  paint  all  prostitutes 
as  hideous,  blear-eyed,  degenerate  creatures, 
recognizable  at  a glance,  detestable  to  all,  even 
to  their  “ consumers,”  stained  through  and 
through  with  every  form  of  vice.  If  such  a 


Moral  and  Sanitary  Control  79 


characterization  corresponded  with  the  reality, 
it  would  be  comparatively  easy  to  carry  out 
such  a system  of  regulation,  and  any  moral 
opposition  which  might  arise  could  be  met 
by  pointing  out  incidental  effects  that  would 
make  for  morality  and  public  order.  The 
lodgings  of  the  prostitute  would  be  under 
police  supervision  and  would  be  prevented 
from  becoming  dens  of  filth  and  contagion. 
The  police  would  become  acquainted  with  the 
general  habits  of  such  women,  would  know  the 
individuals  who  prey  upon  them,  and  thus  could 
prevent  them  from  becoming  the  tools  of  low 
criminals,  as  they  so  often  do  under  conditions 
of  laissez  faire.  Moreover,  the  police  would 
naturally  inquire  into  their  antecedents  and 
would  thus  collect  valuable  data  as  to  the 
causes,  biological  and  social,  which  are 
responsible  for  such  depraved  forms  of 
humanity. 

Even  if  the  premise  of  such  a class  of  pros- 
titutes is  accepted,  the  objection  might  be 
raised  that  the  semi-official  position  of  the 
prostitute  would  seem  to  indicate  a public 
sanction  of  debauch.  The  official  guarantee 
of  good  health  would  remove  any  hesitancy  to 
indulge  in  forbidden  pleasures  that  fear  of 


8o 


The  Social  Evil 


disease  might  create.  Writers  of  the  regie- 
mentation  school  claim,  however,  that  as  a 
practical  fact  the  patrons  of  women  of  this 
class  are  not  likely  to  be  influenced  much  by 
sanction  or  lack  of  sanction  on  the  part  of  the 
police,  nor  are  they  of  self-control  sufficient  to 
restrain  their  passions  for  fear  of  disease.^ 

But  it  would  be  a grievous  error  to  suppose 
that  all  prostitutes,  or  even  a very  large  pro- 
portion of  them,  are  thus  easily  distinguished 
from  the  decent  classes  of  society.  Modern 
prostitution  is  an  infinitely  complex  phenome- 
non. It  is  intangible,  indefinable.  From  its 
complexity  arise  not  only  the  most  serious 
practical  difficulties,  but  moral  difficulties  as 
well. 

With  perhaps  the  majority  of  prostitutes, 
the  life  of  shame  is  only  a temporary  state.^ 
In  a time  of  distress,  they  resort  to  it  as  their 
readiest  means  of  support.  Or,  during  certain 
years  in  which  their  native  passions  are  strong, 
they  accept  such  a life  from  choice,  but,  tiring 
of  it,  they  seek  to  return  into  the  society  which 
they  have  left.  At  first  but  a comparatively 


‘ As  an  example  of  this  naive  type  of  reasoning,  see  Report  of  Par~ 
liamentary  Committee  on  the  Contagious  Diseases  Acts,  1882. 

‘‘  Supra,  74. 


Moral  and  Sanitary  Control  8i 


small  number  of  them  admit  to  themselves 
that  they  have  taken  an  irrevocable  step. 
They  conceal  their  life  from  their  friends,  they 
account  in  some  fictitious  way  for  their  earn- 
ings. It  may  be  that  they  do  not  have  the 
strength  to  abandon  the  life  after  once  be- 
coming accustomed  to  it.  But  the  majority, 
in  all  probability,  do  abandon  it. 

To  the  average  individual,  it  is  true,  there  is 
something  exceedingly  repulsive  in  the  idea  of 
the  restoration  to  decent  society  of  women 
who  have  lived  a vicious  life.  In  the  small 
city,  the  girl  who  has  been  the  victim  of  the 
selfishness  and  treachery  of  the  man  whom  she 
has  trusted  becomes  a social  outcast ; how 
much  more  would  society  thrust  from  itself 
those  who,  even  under  the  stress  of  starvation, 
have  sold  their  honor.  Yet  these  women  are 
members  of  society  and  can  hardly  be  refused 
by  Government  the  right  to  reform.  And  re- 
form would  be  all  but  impossible  if  they  were 
prevented  from  returning  to  some  kind  of 
society  above  the  plane  of  the  common  pros- 
titute. 

Now,  it  is  clear  that  to  the  woman  who,  in 

spite  of  her  secret  sin,  still  considers  herself  a 

member  of  decent  society,  any  policy  that 
6 


82 


The  Social  Evil 


would  lay  bare  her  doings,  search  out  her 
antecedents,  classify  her  with  those  whom  she, 
at  any  rate,  considers  infinitely  beneath  her, 
would  be  a positive  deterrent  to  reform. 
Hitherto,  only  those  knew  of  her  shame  w'ho 
shared  in  it ; after  she  is  placed  under  police 
control,  a whole  police  system  is  privy  to  it. 
It  does  not  matter  that  the  Morals  Service 
is  bound  not  to  disclose  what  it  knows ; the 
woman  is  certain  that  at  any  time  in  her  life 
the  knowledge  of  her  previous  conduct  may  in 
some  mysterious  way  leak  out ; and  the  official 
record  of  her  shame  exists,  to  be  consulted  by 
favorites  of  the  bureau,  in  spite  of  general 
regulations. 

As  would  be  expected,  it  is  the  opponents 
of  a system  of  regulation  who  lay  most  stress 
upon  the  fact  that  subjection  to  any  police 
control  that  would  be  sufficient  for  sanitar}'^ 
purposes  is  a serious  check  to  reform, — an  act 
calculated  to  transform  the  temporarj^  state  of 
prostitution  into  a permanent  one.^  But  the 
more  moderate  and  more  rational  supporters  of 
reglementation  admit  that  inscription  upon  the 
register  of  shame  is  a most  serious  step,  and 

’ See  Yves-Guyot,  La  Prostitution,  2x8  et  seq.,  and  Sheldon  Ames, 
Regulation  of  Vice,  87  et  seq. 


Moral  and  Sanitary  Control  83 


one  to  be  taken  only  when  the  chances  of 
reform  are  small.^ 

Such  are  some  of  the  moral  considerations 
against  forcing  women  to  submit  to  police 
control  against  their  own  will.  In  many  cases, 
however,  the  utmost  willingness  on  the  part  of 
the  prostitute  will  not  morally  justify  her  regis- 
tration. This  is  especially  the  case  with 
minors.  In  every  large  city  there  are  num- 
bers of  very  young  girls  engaged  in  profes- 
sional vice.  According  to  the  theory  of 
sanitary  regulation,  these  ought  to  be  subjected 
to  periodical  examinations  as  well  as  any  others. 
But  moral  considerations  forbid  the  public 
recognition  of  a right  of  children  of  thirteen, 
fourteen,  and  fifteen  to  prostitute  themselves. 
It  is  a matter  of  sufficient  gravity  to  register 

’ “ Inscription  upon  the  register  of  the  bureau  of  morals  is  the 
final  stage  of  vice,  the  final  term  of  degradation.  It  is  the  official 
formality,  which,  like  the  licentia  stupri  of  the  Romans,  regulates 
and  legitimates  the  sad  trade  of  prostitution.  It  is,  in  a word,  that 
sinister  act  which  severs  a woman  from  society  and  which  makes 
her  a chattel  of  the  Administration.” — Mireur,  La  Prostitution  a 
Marseilles. 

“ The  system  of  supervision  and  regulation  of  vice  which  exists 
almost  everywhere  to-day  is  more  designed  to  force  into  the  depths 
the  girls  who  are  upon  the  downward  path,  and  to  retain  in  the  pro- 
fession of  prostitution  those  who  are  already  under  police  control, 
than  to  lighten  their  return  to  the  right.”  — Neisser,  Conference  In- 
ternationale, Brussels,  iSgg  ; Rapports  Preliminaires,  ^me  Question, 
14;  alsojeannel,  o‘p.  eit.,  315. 


84 


The  Social  Evil 


minors  of  more  years  than  these.  On  the 
Continent,  the  consent  of  parents  and  guardians 
is  usually  required  for  their  registration.  It 
is  difficult  to  see  how  the  securing  of  the 
consent  of  a probably  vicious  and  worthless 
parent  can  relieve  the  administration  of  any 
moral  responsibility. 

It  would,  accordingly,  seem  that  while  there 
is  a class  of  prostitutes  who  would  hardly  be 
injured  by  sanitary  regulation,  whom  it  might 
be  for  the  public  welfare  to  subject  to  such 
regulation,  there  is  also  a class  the  subjection 
of  which  to  regulation  is  inadmissible  from 
the  moral  point  of  view.  In  practice,  every" 
system  of  regulation  is  compelled  to  take  a 
middle  course,  sacrificing  moral  ends  to  sani- 
tary and  sanitary  to  moral.  As  a result,  it  is 
impossible  to  realize  either  end  completely. 

There  are  other  moral  difficulties  in  the  way 
of  a system  of  regulation.  No  amount  of 
sophistical  discrimination  between  the  words 
“ toleration  ” and  “ recognition  ” can  conceal 
the  fact  that  a system  of  regulation  makes  of 
prostitution  a legitimate  industry^  subject  to 
regulations  in  the  behalf  of  its  patrons  identi- 
cal in  nature  with  the  early  regulations  as  to 
the  weight  of  the  loaf  of  bread,  or  the  size  and 


Moral  and  Sanitary  Control  85 


quality  of  the  yard  of  woollens.  Almost  every- 
one is  familiar  enough  with  human  nature  to 
know  that  the  notion  that  any  indulgence  is  a 
general  need,  inherent  in  the  state  of  manhood, 
creates  in  the  growing  boy  an  almost  irresistible 
impulse  to  experience  it.  State  recognition 
and  regulation  of  prostitution  would  unques- 
tionably tend  to  confirm  the  already  common 
opinion  that  secret  indulgence  is  an  imperative 
need. 

Again,  the  creation  of  the  impression  that 
prostitution  is  safe  is  pretty  sure  to  increase 
the  patronage  of  the  prostitute,  and  in  so  far 
to  increase  the  material  basis  without  which 
prostitution  would  perish.  While  there  are 
large  numbers  of  men  who  cannot  be  deterred 
from  incontinence  by  fear  of  disease,  yet  even 
of  these  there  are  doubtless  some  who  indulge 
less  freely  in  vicious  pleasures  for  that  reason. 
It  is  a notorious  fact  that  travellers  are  less 
self-restrained  in  this  respect  in  cities  that  have 
the  reputation  of  possessing  a good  system  of 
regulation  than  they  are  elsewhere.^ 

' It  is  sometimes  argued  that  the  fact  that  the  “ control-book”  is 
very  rarely  shown  by  the  prostitute  to  her  patrons  proves  that  little 
thought  is  given  to  the  possibility  of  disease,  and  that  hence  the 
guarantee  of  good  health  does  not  add  to  the  sum-total  of  immor- 
ality. Of  course  it  proves  nothing  of  the  kind.  In  a city  where 


86 


The  Social  Evil 


In  the  practical  working  of  regulation  sys- 
tems, there  are  many  features  that  are  not 
in  keeping  with  moral  requirements.  The 
French  system  of  encouraging  the  establish- 
ment of  brothels  is  a case  in  point.  Anyone 
knows  that  the  assembling  under  one  roof  of 
a group  of  depraved  women  means  a still 
further  increase  in  their  depravity.  The  crea- 
tion of  a propertied  class  which  legitimately 
shares  the  profits  of  vice  is  in  itself  demoraliz- 
ing. It  means  the  recognition  of  pecuniary 
interests  in  the  fall  of  women. ^ In  no  country 
have  brothels  existed  without  the  rise  of  indi- 
viduals who  make  seduction  a profession.  Of 
course,  flagrant  crimes  against  morality  are 
sometimes  punished.  Nevertheless,  if  the 
brothel  is  to  exist,  it  cannot  be  held  too 


sanitary  regulation  exists,  the  patron  generally  takes  it  for  granted 
that  such  women  are  subjected  to  it  and  that  the  fact  that  they  are 
at  large  proves  their  freedom  from  disease.  (For  authority  as  to  the 
popular  belief  in  the  safety  of  regulated  prostitution,  see  Strdhmberg, 
Die  Prostitution,  I20.) 

' France  has  long  possessed  a regular  publication  {Annuaire 
Reirum)  which  gives  the  addresses  of  all  houses  of  prostitution  in 
the  cities  and  towns  of  France,  together  with  information  of  in- 
terest to  the  “ trade,”  such  as  the  towns  suited  by  population  and 
number  of  men  in  the  garrison  for  the  establishment  of  new  broth- 
els, etc.  The  procuring  of  new  recruits  for  the  brothels  is  often 
undertaken  by  men  representing  groups  of  licensed  houses. — Reuss, 
op.  cit,,  isi  et  seg. 


Moral  and  Sanitary  Control  87 


strictly  to  account  for  the  measures  it  takes  in 
securing  the  necessary  number  of  occupants. 

It  has  long  been  recognized  that  it  is  evil, 
from  the  moral  point  of  view,  to  permit  the 
sale  of  alcoholic  liquors  in  brothels.  The  ex- 
istence of  places  of  amusement  in  connection 
with  brothels  is  another  serious  evil  ; men 
who  are  simply  in  search  of  amusement  that 
is  harmless  in  itself  are  likely  to  be  attracted 
there,  only  to  become  subject  to  temptations 
which  they  do  not  have  the  strength  to  resist. 
Accordingly,  it  was  at  first  the  policy  in  Paris 
to  prohibit  music  and  dancing,  and  the  sale 
of  intoxicants  in  public  brothels.  But  it  was 
found  that  the  brothel  could  not  exist  under 
such  conditions.  And  so  the  Parisian  broth- 
els have  been  permitted  to  transform  them- 
selves into  luxurious  cafes  and  the  like,  where 
every  form  of  harmless  entertainment  is  en- 
listed in  the  service  of  vice. 

Again,  public  morals  demand  that  solicita- 
tion upon  the  street  and  in  public  places^ 

’ “ From  the  moment  that  by  inscription  a semi-official  seal  is 
placed  upon  prostitution,  one  is  morally  bound  to  grant  the  women 
upon  whom  obligations  are  imposed  the  right  to  exercise  their  trade. 
For  the  great  majority  of  public  women,  solicitation  upon  the  street 
is  the  only  kind  that  can  be  employed.  The  street,  where  they 
elbow  the  passers-by,  furnishes  them  the  means  of  their  existence  ; 
forbid  it  them,  and  they  die  of  hunger.” — Reuss,  op.  cit.,  265. 


88 


The  Social  Evil 


should  cease.  But  the  prostitute  at  large 
would  find  it  practically  impossible  to  live  if 
the  prohibition  were  enforced.  The  enforce- 
ment of  such  a regulation  is  not  in  harmony 
with  a system  of  toleration. 

The  licensed  prostitute  is  perfectly  aware  of 
this  fact,  and  her  conduct  is  apt  to  be  marked 
by  a flagrancy  which  the  clandestine  prostitute 
would  not  dare  to  assume. 

Of  course  it  is  perfectly  apparent  that  a 
system  of  regulation  which  includes  sanitary 
supervision  may,  from  a moral  point  of  view, 
be  far  better  than  a system  of  absolute  laissez 
faire.  Where  prostitution  is  absolutely  unre- 
strained, as  it  was  in  London  some  years  ago, 
crimes  against  morality  are  without  doubt  more 
frequent  than  in  a city  like  Paris.  The  de- 
bauching of  minors  was  infinitely  more  fre- 
quent ; the  forcible  detention  in  brothels,  a 
thing  not  unknown  in  Paris,  was  fairly  com- 
mon. Ororanized  societies  for  the  debauchino^ 

o o 

of  little  girls  have  existed,  and  probably  still 
exist.^  Solicitation  is  nowhere  more  open, 
more  cynical. 

But  comparison  cannot  be  made  between  a 

* See  Revelations  of  the  Pall  Mall  Gazette,  1886  ; also  Select  Re- 
port on  Law  relating  to  the  Protection  of  Young  Girls,  r88i,  579. 


Moral  and  Sanitary  Control  89 


city  in  which  there  is  practically  no  police 
control  of  vice,  and  one  in  which  a most  effi- 
cient police  system  has  struggled  with  the  evil 
for  a century.  Moreover,  the  conditions  of 
the  two  cities  are  not  such  as  to  permit  of  a 
comparison  of  any  value  at  all.  One  must 
rather  compare  the  moral  condition  of  a city 
in  which  sanitary  control  exists  with  the  con- 
ditions that  would  prevail  were  sanitary  con- 
trol replaced  by  an  equally  efficient  moral 
control. 

There  is  one  important  consideration  which 
may  be  noticed  here,  although  it  concerns  itself 
immediately  with  public  policy  rather  than 
with  morality  proper.  Every  student  of  polit- 
ical science  knows  that  it  is  a serious  matter  to 
create  laws  or  regulations  which  do  not  express 
the  moral  feelings  of  the  more  law-abiding 
class  of  society.  The  legal  institution  of  mala 
prohibita  which  are  not  generally  felt  to  be 
mala  in  se  necessarily  tends  to  diminish  the 
feeling  for  the  sanctity  of  the  law, — a feeling 
without  which  laws  can  be  effectively  adminis- 
tered only  by  the  strong  hand  of  despotic 
government. 

Infinitely  more  grave  is  the  institution  of 
laws  which  are,  rightly  or  wrongly,  felt  by  the 


90 


The  Social  Evil 


moral  classes  of  a State  to  be  of  execrable  im- 
morality. If,  for  example,  it  were  agreed  by 
sociological  and  political  theorists  that  social 
welfare  would  be  furthered  by  the  literal  en- 
slavement of  the  idle  and  vicious,  a law  to  that 
effect  would  be  a menace  to  good  government 
so  long  as  the  general  public  looks  upon  human 
liberty  as  sacred.  It  is  conceivable  that  ab- 
stract thinkers  might  conclude  that  society 
would  be  better  off  if  the  congenitally  defect- 
ive, those  of  criminal  instincts,  and  those  who 
suffer  from  incurable,  loathsome  and  danger- 
ous diseases  could  be  put  out  of  the  way.  But 
no  sane  legislator  Avould  be  willing  to  violate 
the  feeling  of  the  sanctity  of  human  life. 

In  every  civilized  country  there  is  a large 
class  of  persons  who  look  upon  reglementation 
as  a State  iniquity  exactly  analogous  to  the 
above  hypothetical  policies.  They  consider 
that  by  legitimizing  vice  the  State  identifies  it- 
self with  immorality.  By  creating  a class  of 
administrative  chattels  for  the  use  and  enjoy- 
ment of  the  vicious,  the  State  outrages  the 
deepest  sentiments  of  humanity.  By  discrimi- 
nating between  vicious  women  and  vicious 
men,  it  insults  womankind.  By  rendering  vice 
innocuous,  either  in  fact  or  in  seeming,  it  in- 


Moral  and  Sanitary  Control  91 


cites  the  youth  of  both  sexes  to  debauch.  The 
defender  of  sanitary  regulation  will  argue  in 
vain  against  reasoning  of  this  kind.  He  may 
try  to  prove  that  the  countervailing  good  of 
reglementation  would  be  so  great  that  the  sum 
of  human  happiness  would  be  greatly  increased 
by  its  introduction.  But  moral  sentiments  do 
not  demand  that  society  should  be  happy ; 
they  do  demand  that  it  should  be  moral. 

Accordingly,  even  if  it  could  be  shown  that 
sanitary  regulation  is  actually  as  effective  in 
checking  disease  as  its  supporters  claim,  and 
even  if  it  were  impossible  to  demonstrate  a se- 
rious moral  cost,  the  legislator  would  be  com- 
pelled to  take  into  account  the  existence  of 
such  general  antagonism  to  the  policy  of  reg- 
lementation. There  is  every  reason  for  believ- 
ing that,  in  an  American  city,  the  more  moral 
element  in  the  population  would  be  practically 
a unit  against  it. 

One  further  objection,  also  political  rather 
than  moral,  may  be  added.  It  is  the  general 
belief  of  political  thinkers,  at  least  in  Anglo- 
Saxon  states,  that  every  encroachment  upon 
the  liberty  of  the  individual  is  an  evil  in  itself, 
only  to  be  justified  by  a very  great  good  re- 
sulting from  it.  A system  which  makes  it 


92 


The  Social  Evil 


possible  for  the  police  to  seize  on  suspicion  any 
citizen  and  impose  upon  him  an  insulting  ex- 
amination for  the  purpose  of  discovering  dis- 
ease, and  to  imprison  him  on  suspicion  that  he 
would  immorally  communicate  it  if  left  at  large, 
cannot  be  said  to  be  in  harmony  with  the  prin- 
ciples of  personal  liberty.  Any  person  might 
be  subject  to  such  indignity,  since  the  natural 
grounds  upon  which  the  administrators  of  such 
a system  would  act  are  the  accusations  of 
persons  who  have  confessedly  shared  in  im- 
morality.^ 

It  need  not  be  supposed  that  the  liberty  of 
the  average  citizen  is  secured  because  the  po- 
lice in  this  specific  case  act  only  with  regard 
to  friendless  women.  One  inroad  into  the 
domain  of  individual  liberty  is  a precedent 
for  another. 

■ In  Paris  and  Berlin  the  registered  prostitutes  are  recognized 
auxiliaries  of  the  police  in  hunting  down  clandestine  prostitutes.  It 
can  readily  be  seen  that  the  personal  liberty  of  any  woman  who  is 
not  of  unquestioned  standing  in  society  may  be  jeopardized  by  the 
spite  of  a common  harlot. 


CHAPTEP.  VIII 


PRACTICAL  DIFFICULTIES  IN  THE  REGULATION  OF 
PROSTITUTION 

We  have  seen  that  the  ideal  of  sanitary 
regulation  can,  for  moral  reasons,  admit  of 
only  an  approximate  realization.  It  is  of  great 
importance  to  examine  regulation  as  it  exists 
to-day,  with  a view  to  ascertaining  how  far 
the  approximation  falls  short  of  the  ideal. 

That  part  of  prostitution  which  cannot  be 
subjected  to  sanitary  control  is  necessarily 
very  large.  Probably  far  the  greater  number 
of  prostitutes  begin  their  career  of  shame  be- 
fore they  have  attained  their  majority.^ 

This  fact  is  so  well  known  that  authority 
need  hardly  be  cited  to  prove  it.  It  stands  to 
reason  that  the  waif  or  neglected  child  of 
fifteen,  sixteen  or  seventeen  should  fall  the 

’ Of  looo  prostitutes  concerning  whom  Dr.  Le  Pileur  was  able  to 
secure  detailed  information,  758  began  to  prostitute  themselves  be- 
fore the  twenty-first  year  ; 109  were  prostitutes  before  the  sixteenth 
year. — Le  Pileur,  Conference  Internationale,  Brussels,  1899;  Rap- 
ports Preiiminaires,  jme  Question,  47. 

93 


94 


The  Social  Evil 


easiest  prey,  first  of  the  seducer  and  later  of 
the  procurer. 

Since  the  average  length  of  time  in  which 
a prostitute  exercises  her  trade  is  not  more 
than  half  a dozen  years,  it  is  evident  that  the 
minors  make  up  a considerable  proportion  of 
the  total  numbers  of  those  who  are  at  any 
time  engaged  in  prostitution. 

But  minors,  as  a rule,  cannot  be  subjected 
to  sanitary  control.  In  every  country  there  is 
a strong  public  sentiment  against  the  official 
recognition  of  minor  prostitutes.  Whether  it 
is  a sound  moral  sentiment  or  mere  sentimen- 
tality, it  must  be  counted  with  as  a fact  ; and 
no  administration  dares  to  violate  it  to  any 
great  extent.^ 

With  the  minors  may  be  grouped  the  very 
large  numbers  of  prostitutes  who  will  not  vol- 
untarily subject  themselves  to  sanitary  control, 
and  whose  conduct  is  not  sufficiently  notorious 
to  justify  compulsory  registration.  Naturally, 
most  prostitutes  begin  in  this  class.  They  are 

’ In  Berlin,  229  minors  were  registered  in  i8g8.  Anyone  can  see 
that  the  number  is  wholly  insignificant  as  compared  with  the  number 
actually  living  in  the  state  of  prostitution.  In  Paris,  from  1816  to 
1832,  59  of  those  newly  registered  were  minors.  From  1851  to 
1866  minors  made  up  33  %.  From  1880  to  r886  the  minors  were 
20  %.  The  percentage  has  declined  since,  but  the  exact  figures  are 
not  at  hand. 


Practical  Difficulties  in  Regulation  95 

not  at  first  sufficiently  hardened  to  be  willing 
to  be  classed  with  notorious  prostitutes ; they 
still  cherish  the  purpose  of  returning  to  hon- 
orable life.  And  although  the  police  may  sus- 
pect them,  in  probably  nine  cases  out  of  ten  it 
would  be  impossible  to  obtain  proof  that  would 
by  any  regular  course  of  judicial  procedure 
convict  them  of  debauch.  It  is  true  that  such 
proof  is  not  absolutely  necessary.  Every 
police  administration  that  undertakes  to  con- 
trol prostitution  pursues  a more  or  less  ar- 
bitrary policy.  But  experience  has  proved 
that  such  a policy  must  be  pursued  with  great 
care.  Otherwise  the  charge  is  sure  to  arise 
that  honorable  women  have  been  seized  and 
branded  with  the  deepest  infamy  known  to 
civilization.  It  may  be  that  the  women  in 
question  are  really  what  the  police  consider 
them  to  be.  But  if  positive  proof  is  wanting, 
as  must  generally  be  the  case,  the  women 
stand  innocent  before  the  general  public.  And 
many  such  charges  would  annihilate  any  police 
organization. 

Continental  defenders  of  sanitary  regulation 
frequently  deplore  the  violent  opposition  to 
the  sanitary  police  that  is  aroused  whenever 
the  charge  of  arbitrary  procedure  is  made. 


96 


The  Social  Evil 


The  system  of  sanitary  control,  they  claim, 
is  shorn  of  all  effectiveness  if  the  police  are 
not  empowered  to  act  upon  reasonable  sus- 
picion. Whether  the  popular  feeling  is  sound 
or  not,  it  is  not  necessary  to  inquire.  The 
fact  remains  that  it  exists  in  every  country, 
and  that  administrative  systems  find  them- 
selves compelled  to  respect  it.  Even  in 
Russia,  where,  we  are  accustomed  to  believe, 
the  police  do  much  as  they  please,  the  high- 
class  prostitute  is  seldom  forced  upon  the 
register,  for  the  simple  reason  that  she  can 
make  her  cause  heard. ^ It  Is  the  low-class 
woman  who  is  the  subject  of  arbitrary  disposal. 
In  Germany,  imbued  as  it  is  with  military 
ideals,  the  police  proceed  with  a good  deal  of 
freedom  in  registering  women  against  their 
will.  Lack  of  visible  means  of  support,  and 
the  existence  of  venereal  disease  are  taken  as 
proof  of  prostitution.  Of  course,  reflection 
will  show  that  such  proof  is  not  absolute.  But 
the  public  is  generally  willing  enough  to  be- 
lieve that  a woman  without  support,  especially 
if  diseased,  is  of  bad  character ; and  doubtless 
mistakes  would  not  be  so  very  frequent.  The 
experience  of  Berlin  proves,  however,  that  the 

* Sturmer,Z)2V  Prostitution  in  Rttssland,  107. 


Practical  Difficulties  in  Regulation  97 


great  majority  of  those  who  are  actually  pros- 
titutes cannot  be  discovered  even  in  this  way. 

In  Paris,  the  police  are  more  circumspect  in 
proceeding  to  register  unwilling  women  as 
prostitutes.  The  movement  for  the  abolition 
of  control  during  the  ’seventies  and  ’eighties 
brought  to  light  some  exceedingly  unfortunate 
mistakes  that  had  been  made  in  the  arrest  of 
suspected  women.^  Doubtless  the  Bureau  of 
Morals  proceeded  with  as  great  caution  as 
possible.  But  if  compulsory  registration  is 
employed  freely,  some  mistakes  are  inevitable. 

It  would  be  interesting  to  know  how  far 
such  a policy  could  be  pursued  in  a great  city 
of  England  or  America,  with  Anglo-Saxon 
notions  of  personal  liberty  and  of  inviolability 
of  domicile,  and  with  Anglo-Saxon  dislike  for 
police  inquisition  into  private  affairs.  Of 
course  a great  number  of  low-class  prostitutes 
could  be  picked  up  in  notorious  resorts,  and 
public  opinion  might  find  little  to  object 
to.  But  as  soon  as  the  more  notorious  had 
been  disposed  of,  it  is  difificult  to  see  how  the 
police  could  proceed  farther. 

Accordingly,  it  may  be  taken  for  granted 

•Mrs.  Butler,  Personal  Reminiscences  of  a Great  Crusade,  285; 
Yves-Guyot,  op.  cit.,  126. 


98 


The  Social  Evil 


that  voluntary  registration  must  chiefly  be 
relied  upon.  Such  is  the  case  in  the  two  cities 
we  have  selected  as  typical.'  It  may,  further, 
be  taken  for  granted  that  the  very  great  ma- 
jority of  prostitutes  will  never  submit  volun- 
tarily.^ 

Without  laying  too  great  weight  upon  con- 
jectural estimates  (although  the  authors  cited 
are  entitled  to  the  highest  respect),  one  may 
consider  it  a very  conservative  opinion  that  in 

* Of  course,  “ voluntary  ” inscription  must  be  understood  to  imply 
something  quite  different  from  free  consent.  By  frequent  arrests,  by 
threats  of  long  imprisonment,  and  the  like,  these  women  are  com- 
pelled to  submit.  But  of  course  no  such  persecution  would  compel 
a really  innocent  woman  to  consent  to  inscription. 

^ Every  authority  on  prostitution  will  state  that  the  unsubjected 
or  “ clandestine  ” prostitutes  far  outnumber  those  who  are  subject  to 
control.  Naturally,  the  number  of  the  clandestine  can  be  arrived  at 
only  by  conjecture.  Some  of  these  conjectures  may,  however,  be 
worth  mentioning. 

Barthelemy  estimates  that  the  clandestine  prostitutes  are  from  ten 
to  fifteen  times  as  numerous  as  the  subjected.  Reuss  contents  him- 
self with  saying  that  the  clandestine  are  greatly  in  the  majority. 
Lecour,  writing  in  the  ’seventies,  estimated  the  number  of  prosti- 
tutes in  Paris  at  30,ocxD,  of  whom  about  4000  were  subjected.  At 
present,  something  over  6000  are  subjected  ; and  from  the  incessant 
complaints  of  the  increase  of  clandestine  prostitution,  we  may  infer 
that  the  proportion  has  not  changed  for  the  better  (from  the  regle- 
mentist  point  of  view).  Muller,  writing  in  1867,  estimated  the  pros- 
titutes of  Vienna  at  20,000.  In  all  probability  the  number  has  since 
doubled.  Those  under  sanitary  control  numbered  2400  in  1896. 
Nieman,  in  1890,  estimated  that  there  were  50,000  prostitutes  in 
Berlin  ; in  1887,  3063  were  under  sanitary  control. 


Practical  Difficulties  in  Regulation  99 


none  of  the  great  cities  of  Europe  do  the 
registered  prostitutes  make  up  more  than  from 
ten  to  twenty-five  per  cent,  of  the  total  num- 
ber of  those  who  gain  their  living  by  pros- 
titution. 

Without  reflection,  one  would  be  inclined  to 
suppose  that  the  part  controlled  is  the  more 
dangerous  from  the  sanitary  point  of  view, 
since  the  more  notoriously  debauched.  So  far 
as  syphilis  is  concerned,  this  is  a mistake.  It 
must  be  remembered  that  the  syphilitic,  after 
two  or  three  years,  does  not  normally  transmit 
contagion,  and  that  she  is  immune  against 
fresh  infection. 

f Syphilitic  disease  is  so  common  among  the 
' patrons  of  prostitution  that  a prostitute  rarely 
escapes  the  disease  for  more  than  two  or  three 
years  after  entering  upon  her  life  of  shame.^ 
It  is,  however,  these  years  in  which  the  prosti- 
tute is  most  averse  to  submission  to  control, 
\and  in  which  it  is  the  most  difficult  for  the 
police  to  force  her  to  accept  control. 

Accordingly,  it  lies  in  the  nature  of  the  case 

’ Out  of  the  718  syphilitic  prostitutes  observed  by  Le  Pileur,  489, 
or  68  were  contaminated  in  the  same  year  in  which  they  began 
to  be  prostitutes  ; loi,  or  is  %,  in  the  year  following. — Le  Pileur, 
Conference  Internationale,  Brussels,  1899  ; Rapports  Preluninaires, 
^me  Question,  49. 


lOO 


The  Social  Evil 


that  a very  large  percentage  of  those  who  sub- 
mit to  registration  have  gone  through  with 
their  contagious  period  either  partially  or 
wholly/  This  would  be  especially  true  in 
the  case  of  those  infected  while  minors, 
since  even  just  ground  for  suspicion  is  not 
sufficient  to  permit  of  their  registration.  It 
will  surprise  no  one  to  know  that  a very  large 
proportion  of  all  prostitutes  are  infected  before 
their  majority.^ 

When  we  take  these  facts  into  account,  it 
seems  probable  that  of  those  who  become  regis- 
tered prostitutes,  the  dangerous  period  does 
not,  on  the  average,  bear  as  great  a proportion 

' Of  431  registered  prostitutes  observed  by  the  same  authority,  318, 
or  74  %,  were  already  syphilitic  when  registered;  147,  or  34  had  been 
infected  a year  or  more  before  they  were  registered. — Le  Pileur, 
Conference  Internationale,  Brussels,  1899  ; Rapports  Preliniinaires, 
pine  Question,  60. 

Dr.  Le  Pileur  describes  the  early  career  of  the  typical  prostitute 
in  the  following  “ aphorism  ” : 

“ Deflowered  at  16, 

Prostitute  at  17, 

Syphilitic  at  18.” 

Out  of  the  718  syphilitic  prostitutes,  498,  or  69^,  were  infected 
before  the  twenty-first  year. — Le  Pileur,  Hid. 

According  to  Fournier  fls,  63  ^ of  syphilitic  prostitutes  under 
his  observation  had  been  infected  before  the  twenty-first  year. — Con- 
ference Internationale,  Brussels,  1899;  Compte  Rendu,  ii.,  ire 
Question,  82. 

Jullien  finds  that  65  % are  contam'.nated  before  twenty-one. — Con- 
ference Internationale  ; Compte  Rendu,  ii.,  ire  Question,  58. 


Practical  Difficulties  in  Regulation  loi 

to  the  post-contagious  period  of  their  career  as 
registered  prostitutes  as  did  the  contagious 
period  before  registration  to  the  period  before 
infection.  Moreover,  those  who  are  never 
registered  at  all  do  not  continue  in  their  life 
of  dishonor  as  long  after  becoming  immune 
as  do  those  who  are  eventually  registered. 

One  further  fact  to  be  taken  into  account  is 
that  the  patron,  or  rather  the  consumer,  of  the 
child-prostitute  does  not  exercise  the  same 
caution  that  he  would  under  other  circum- 
stances. He  flatters  himself  that  it  is  the  first 
debauch  or  pretty  nearly  the  first.  In  like 
manner,  the  man  who  has  illicit  relations  with 
women  who  outwardly  seem  entirely  respect- 
able is  unlikely  to  suspect  disease. 

Accordingly,  there  would  seem  to  be  a good 
a priori  reason  for  believing  that  the  clandes- 
tine prostitutes  are  far  more  dangerous  than 
the  registered  ; and  this  quite  without  regard 
for  the  greater  or  less  degree  of  perfection  of 
sanitary  surveillance. 

The  comparative  morbidity  of  the  clandes- 
tine and  the  registered  prostitutes  has  been  very 
much  discussed.  As  a rule,  all  supporters  of 
regulation  are  agreed  that  the  clandestine 
prostitute  is  far  more  likely  to  be  diseased  than 


102 


The  Social  Evil 


the  registered  prostitute.  The  opponents  of 
regulation  hold  the  opposite  view.  The  for- 
mer party  seem  to  have  the  better  facts  to 
support  their  contention. 

One  way  of  proving  the  dangerous  character 
of  clandestine  prostitution  is  to  make  inquiries 
as  to  the  source  of  contagion  of  men  afflicted 
with  venereal  disease.  But  little  information 
of  value  can  be  obtained  in  this  way,  since 
the  patient  is  often  uncertain  as  to  which  one 
of  a number  of  prostitutes  may  have  infected 
him.  Again,  if  he  knows  it,  he  may  refuse  to 
designate  the  person,  since  that  would  render 
her  liable  to  arrest.  Moreover,  since  the 
clandestine  are  held  to  be  not  quite  so  low  as 
the  registered  prostitutes,  many  men  will  give 
false  information  out  of  a species  of  pride. 

But  even  if  it  could  be  certainly  known  how 
great  the  number  infected  by  each  class,  no 
really  valid  comparison  could  be  made,  because 
no  one  knows  the  exact  number  of  clandestine 
prostitutes. 

A second  way  is  to  compare  the  state  of 
health  of  the  clandestine  prostitutes  who  are 
arrested  and  examined  with  that  of  the  regis- 
tered prostitutes.  This,  too,  can  give  no  cer- 
tain information,  since  those  who  are  arrested 


Practical  Difficulties  in  Regulation  103 


are  but  a fraction  of  the  total  number,  and 
may  not  be  fairly  representative  of  it  at  all. 
Such  as  it  is,  however,  it  is  the  only  empirical 
evidence  of  any  value  that  is  attainable.  This 
seems  to  be  decidedly  against  the  clandestine. 
From  1872  to  1888,  the  sanitary  service  of 
Paris  examined  45,577  registered  prostitutes 
and  47,340  clandestine.  The  average  morbid- 
ity of  the  clandestine  was  31.65  ^ ; that  of  the 
registered  13.47^.^ 

No  separation  of  the  various  diseases  is  here 
made.  It  is  generally  claimed  that  the  com- 
parative proportion  of  syphilis  alone  is  much 
more  favorable  to  the  registered.  This  is 
what  one  would  expect,  since  gonorrhoea  does 
not  carry  immunity  with  it,  as  does  syphilis, 
and  hence  may  be  as  common  among  the 
older  prostitutes  as  among  the  younger. 

Older  authorities  on  prostitution  try  to  es- 
tablish the  comparative  morbidity  from  the 
number  of  examinations  in  which  disease  is 
discovered.  This  is,  of  course,  a wholly  absurd 
procedure.  The  registered  prostitute  who  is 
diseased  is  removed  to  the  hospital  and  ceases 
to  figure  in  the  statistics  of  examinations  until 

* Augagneur,  Conference  Internationale,  Brussels,  1899;  Rap- 
forts  Prlliminaires,  i.,  65  et  seq. 


104 


The  Social  Evil 


she  is  cured,  when  she  again  helps  to  swell  the 
number  of  examinations  in  which  no  disease  is 
found.  Whenever  figures  are  cited  showing 
that  the  clandestine  are  ten  or  twenty  or  fifty 
times  as  dangerous  as  the  registered,  one  may 
be  certain  that  this  astonishing  fallacy  is 
<"hiefly  responsible  for  them. 


From  such  facts  as  we  have,  we  may,  how- 
ever, conclude  that  the  more  dangerous  prosti- 
tutes, from  the  sanitary  point  of  view,  are  those 
who  cannot  be  subjected  to  sanitary  control. 

It  remains  to  consider  how  far  that  fraction 
of  prostitution  which  can  actually  be  brought 
under  sanitary  control  is  really  rendered  in- 
nocuous. This  is,  of  course,  a question  for 
medical  specialists  to  discuss  rather  than  for 
laymen.  Nevertheless,  it  is  of  the  utmost  im- 
portance for  the  layman  to  know  what  conclu- 
sions the  specialists  have  reached. 

It  may  be  remarked,  in  passing,  that  the  dis- 
cussion of  this  question  has  taken  an  altogether 
new  turn  in  late  years.  Twenty  years  ago  it 
was  only  the  moralist,  who  knew  nothing  of 
medicine,  who  dared  to  connect  venereal  dis- 
ease with  registered  prostitution.  It  is  diffi- 
cult to  find  a single  competent  writer  of  the 
present  day  who  does  not  deplore  the  imper- 


Practical  Difficulties  in  Regulation  105 


fections  of  the  system  as  it  exists,  and  who 
does  not  admit  that  registered  prostitutes  are 
responsible  for  a vast  amount  of  venereal 
infection. 

In  the  first  place,  it  is  universally  agreed 
that  the  manner  of  inspection  is  imperfect.  In 
many  places  the  inspection  has  to  take  place 
under  circumstances  that  preclude  the  possi- 
bility of  scientific  accuracy.  The  apparatus 
needed  is  often  wanting  ; the  physicians  ap- 
pointed for  the  work  are  far  too  much  over- 
worked, and  they  are  not  men  who  have  been 
specially  trained  for  it.  Consequently,  many 
of  the  prostitutes  who  are  dismissed  with  the 
official  stamp  of  good  health  are  capable  of 
transmitting  contagion.  Cases  are  frequent 
where  men  who  have  accompanied  them  from 
the  dispensary  have  been  infected  with  venereal 
disease.^ 

These  deficiencies,  it  would  seem,  are  almost 
entirely  due  to  lack  of  necessary  funds.  This 
is  clearly  the  case  with  the  imperfection  of 

' According  to  Carlier,  there  are  frequently  groups  of  cautious  in- 
dividuals prowling  about  the  doors  of  the  dispensary,  waiting  to 
accompany  those  who  have  been  found  by  the  physician  to  be  in 
good  health.  It  is  hard  to  characterize  the  immorality  of  a system 
that  wantonly  deludes  men  of  such  exemplary  prudence  ! What 
wonder  that  the  doctors  are  sometimes  threatened  with  assassination  ? 


io6 


The  Social  Evil 


apparatus.  The  same  reason  explains  the 
needless  haste  with  which  examinations  are 
made.  By  methods  known  to  modern  science, 
gonorrhoea  is  practically  always  capable  of 
being  established.^  The  diagnosis  of  syphilis 
has  never  been  especially  difficult. 

But  the  expense  that  the  needed  changes 
would  involve  would  be  considerable.  Strohm- 
berg  thinks  that  one  physician  could  manage 
four  hundred  prostitutes.  Finger  would  place 
fifty  only  under  each  physician.  Other  authori- 
ties are  inclined  to  require  fewer  physicians 
than  Finger,  but  more  than  Strohmberg. 

If  we  suppose  that  each  physician  could 
adequately  examine  and  treat  one  hundred 
prostitutes,  it  is  plain  that  the  cost  would  not 
be  light.  In  Paris,  with  six  thousand  regis- 
tered prostitutes,  sixty  physicians  would  be 
needed  instead  of  twenty-four.  It  is  true  that 
at  Paris  the  salaries  of  professional  men  are 
ridiculously  low,  so  that  the  charge  would  not 
weigh  very  heavily  upon  the  budget.  But  if 
New  York  were  to  adopt  a system  of  regie- 
mentation,  controlling  four  or  five  thousand 

’ Kromayer  and  a number  of  other  authorities  deny  this.  — Con- 
ference Internationale,  Brussels,  1899  ; Communications,  i.  ; Appen- 
dix, 26. 


ct 


Practical  Difficulties  in  Regulation  107 

prostitutes  (and  few  would  advocate  a system 
which  should  control  less),  the  expense  would 
be  a matter  of  no  small  importance.  The  ser- 
vices of  forty  or  fifty  specialists  could  not  be 
secured  at  a trifling  cost. 

To  be  sure,  this  point  would  not  have  much 
importance  in  the  case  of  some  other  branch 
of  sanitary  service.  But  it  must  always  be 
borne  in  mind  that  the  great  body  of  taxpayers 
would  bear  with  very  ill  grace  an  expense 
created  by  other  men’s  profligacy. 

It  is  frequently  suggested  that  by  a system 
of  charges  for  examination,  a sanitary  bureau 
may  be  made  self-supporting.^  Against  the 
plan  is  the  unanswerable  argument  of  one 
hundred  years  of  experience.  Every  city 
which  has  adopted  sanitary  control  at  first 
attempted  to  meet  expenses  in  this  way ; and 
every  large  city  has  found  that  the  plan  works 
execrably.  The  most  difficult  part  of  a sys- 
tem of  control  is  to  induce  prostitutes  to 
submit  to  it  voluntarily ; and  every  burden 
imposed  upon  them  will  deter  them  from 
doing  so.  Accordingly,  it  has  been  suggested 
that  those  who  do  submit  should  receive  a 

* This  view  is  advanced  by  Dr.  F.  R.  Sturgis,  in  Medicitu^  June, 
1901. 


io8 


The  Social  Evil 


pension  ; nor  is  the  suggestion  unworthy  of 
consideration,  if  sanitary  control  is  to  be 
adopted.  It  is  time  for  everyone  to  disil- 
lusion himself  of  the  idea  that  the  expenses 
of  a system  of  regulation  can  be  met  from 
any  other  source  than  general  taxation. 

The  second  charge  is  that  examinations  do 
not  take  place  at  sufficiently  frequent  inter- 
vals. In  Paris,  excepting  for  the  relatively 
small  number  of  inmates  of  licensed  houses, 
examinations  are  theoretically  made  every  two 
weeks.  As  a fact,  many  delay  their  visit  to 
the  dispensary,  so  that  the  average  time  is 
longer.  In  Berlin,  according  to  regulations, 
examinations  are  made  weekly.  In  practice, 
the  average  number  of  examinations  per  an- 
num is  twenty-six.^  In  St.  Petersburg,  in 
1893,  the  average  number  for  prostitutes  at 
large  was  twenty-seven  ; in  Moscow,  in  the 
same  year,  it  was  only  four.^ 

Of  course,  whatever  good  regulation  may 
do  must  be  greatly  diminished  when  examina- 
tions are  so  infrequent.  Disease  may  reach  the 
contagious  form  soon  after  inspection  and 
may  be  freely  transmitted  for  two  weeks  or 

' Blaschko,  Conference  Internatio/iale,  Brussels,  1899  ; Enquetes, 
i.,  671.  * StUrmer,  op.  cit.,  121. 


Practical  Difficulties  in  Regulation  109 

longer.  The  reasons  why  such  a state  of 
affairs  exists  are  chiefly  administrative.  The 
examination  is  exceedingly  irksome  to  the 
prostitute  ; and  if  it  be  made  very  frequent, 
she  will  do  her  best  to  evade  control  alto- 
gether. Were  not  this  difficulty  real,  we  may 
be  certain  that  semi-weekly  examinations 
would  long  ago  have  been  instituted  in  all 
Continental  cities. 

The  difficulty  is  much  less  in  the  case  of 
the  inmates  of  licensed  houses.  They  cannot 
escape  the  examiner.  This  is  one  of  the  main 
reasons  why  the  licensed  house  is  so  much 
favored  by  the  police,  in  spite  of  its  moral 
defects.  But  the  spirit  of  the  times  makes 
it  impossible  to  confine  any  large  part  of  the 
prostitutes  in  licensed  houses. 

Here,  then,  we  have  a difficulty  which 
seems  to  be  insurmountable.  After  a hundred 
years  of  experience,  and  with  practically  un- 
limited power  to  deal  with  prostitution  as  it  will, 
the  most  perfect  of  police  administrations,  that 
of  Paris,  is  manifestly  unable  to  cope  with  it. 

Under  this  head  there  is  one  further  sub- 
traction to  be  made  from  the  efficacy  of  regu- 
lation. The  prostitute  who  discovers  herself 
infected  is  naturally  in  no  haste  to  go  to  the 


I lO 


The  Social  Evil 


dispensary,  knowing,  as  she  does,  that  weeks, 
perhaps  months,  of  confinement  will  follow. 
Instead,  she  lingers  as  long  as  possible,  or 
even  disappears  from  her  accustomed  haunts 
and  plies  her  vocation  as  a clandestine  pros- 
titute. She  may  be  retaken  by  the  police, 
and  is  subject  to  imprisonment  after  her  re- 
covery. But  the  future  penalty  does  not  out- 
weigh the  present  prospect  of  being  sent  to 
the  hospital.^ 

' Of  391  licensed  prostitutes  at  large  who  were  infected  with 
syphilis,  74  per  cent,  were  sent  to  the  hospital  in  consequence  of 
arrests  made  by  the  police.  Of  course,  they  would  not  have  gone 
at  once  had  they  not  been  arrested. — Le  Pileur,  Conf^re7ice  Inter- 
nationale^ Brussels,  1899;  Rapports  PrRiminaires,  jme  Question,  71. 

It  may  be  of  interest  here  to  note  the  number  of  prostitutes  w^ho 
attempt  to  escape  from  control,  and  the  number  retaken  by  the 
police. 


Total  number 
registered. 

Disappeared. 

Restored  to 
controL 

1888 

4591 

1779 

1491 

1889 

4951 

2125 

1309 

1890 

4770 

1555 

1234 

1891 

5015 

1450 

821 

1892 

5004 

1436 

869 

1893 

4793 

II2I 

739 

1894 

5154 

794 

616 

1895 

5790 

1456 

494 

1896 

5900 

1190 

615 

1897 

5233 

1599 

454 

1898 

6018 

344 

498 

— Louis  Fiaux,  Conference  Intersiationale,  Brzessels,  1899;  Rapports 
Prlliminaires , 2me  Question,  12 1. 

5609  prostitutes  thus  “ disappeared  ” definitely  in  the  eleven 


Practical  Difficulties  in  Regulation 


1 1 1 


In  the  second  place,  it  is  generally  admitted 
that  the  treatment  is  not  sufficiently  prolonged 
to  cure  the  maladies  discovered ; that  as  a 
rtde,  in  case  of  syphilis,  the  prostitute  is  dis- 
missed from  the  hospital  while  quite  capable 
of  transmitting  the  disease.  The  external 
appearance  of  the  disease  is  made  to  vanish  ; 
the  disease  remains.  As  a French  writer  has 
put  it,  the  prostitutes  are  whitewashed,  not 
cured.  This  is  pretty  largely  the  case  with 
gonorrhoea  also.  For  the  first  two  or  three 
years,  the  syphilitic  may  at  any  time  trans- 
mit disease ; gonorrhoea,  if  not  completely 
cured,  may  be  transmitted  for  an  indefinite 
period.  To  cure  the  latter  malady  com- 
pletely, several  months  of  treatment  may  be 
required ; it  is  still  a disputed  point  whether 
or  not  there  is  not  a large  proportion  of 
women  infected  with  it  who  can  never  be 
cured  at  all.^ 

years.  Of  course  many  reasons  besides  desire  to  escape  the  hos- 
pital must  have  operated  ; but  no  one  can  doubt  that  many  dis- 
appeared in  order  to  prostitute  themselves  clandestinely  either  in 
Paris  or  in  other  cities,  carrying  disease  with  them. 

’ Kromayer  makes  this  contention.  Jadassohn,  on  the  other  hand, 
claims  that  in  most  cases  it  may  be  cured  if  time  enough  be  given. 
But  he  frankly  states  that  it  is  merely  an  opinion,  and  admits  that 
it  is  not  as  yet  proven. — Conference  Internationale,  Brussels,  l8gg; 
Rapports  Preliminaires,  27ne  Question,  41, 


I 12 


The  Social  Evil 


The  question  arises  whether  this  can  be 
remedied.  From  a practical  point  of  view, 
it  is  hard  to  see  how  it  can.  It  is  out  of  the 
question  to  detain  all  the  prostitutes  with 
latent  syphilis  in  the  hospital  until  the  two- 
or  three-year  period  of  contagion  is  over, 
Tarnowsky,  Jadassohn,  Finger,  and  a host 
of  other  medical  men  suggest  the  erection 
of  asylums  where  they  may  be  confined, 
and  where  the  women  afflicted  with  excep- 
tionally stubborn  cases  of  gonorrhoea  may  be 
kept. 

According  to  Finger,  about  25^  of  all  li- 
censed prostitutes  are  in  the  highly  contagious 
stage  of  latent  syphilis.  From  this  we  may 
form  an  estimate  as  to  the  practicability  of 
the  asylum  scheme.  In  our  hypothetical  sys- 
tem of  regulation  in  New  York,  we  should 
constantly  have  from  1000  to  1500  persons 
serving  two-  and  three-year  terms  in  a species 
of  health  reformatory.  We  should  also  have 
a considerable  number  under  indeterminate 
sentence  for  gonorrhoea, — a sentence  which 
would  in  some  cases  expire  only  when  old  age 
should  render  the  woman  innocuous.  The 
question  of  the  costs  at  once  looms  up.  But, 
quite  apart  from  that,  the  plan  is  absurd,  for 


Practical  Difficulties  in  Regulation  113 

no  prostitute  would  submit  to  an  examination 
that  might  lead  to  such  consequences,  if  she 
could  by  any  possible  means  escape  it.  Vol- 
untary inscription  would  be  unthinkable,  and 
the  difficulties  of  official  inscription  would  be 
immeasurably  increased. 

There  is  a minor  factor  that  may  be  taken 
into  account  before  we  leave  the  question  of 
the  safety  of  regulated  prostitution.  The 
question  has  often  been  raised, — generally  by 
laymen,  it  is  true, — whether  contagion  is  not 
frequently  mediate.  When  it  is  remembered 
how  frequently  a low-class  prostitute  performs 
the  same  office,  it  would  seem  reasonable  that 
some  of  her  patrons  may  receive  the  virus  of 
disease  indirectly  from  others.  This  has  been 
adduced  to  explain  the  alleged  fact  that  cases 
of  disease  traceable  to  inmates  of  licensed 
houses  are  likely  to  be  more  frequent,  propor- 
tionately, than  those  originating  with  the 
isolated  but  registered  prostitutes,  in  spite  of 
the  fact  that  the  former  may  show  a smaller 
percentage  of  disease. 

It  may  be  seen,  then,  that  many  subtrac- 
tions from  the  ideal  of  sanitary  control  must 
be  made  before  we  reach  the  actual  effi- 
ciency of  existing  and  practicable  regulation. 

8 


The  Social  Evil 


114 

If,  as  seems  reasonable,  a system  of  regula- 
tion encourages  indulgence  to  a certain  ex- 
tent, it  will  be  necessary  to  make  a further 
subtraction. 

If,  however,  the  small  sanitary  good  that  is 
due  to  reglementation  were  a permanent  ac- 
quisition of  society,  much  might  be  said  for 
the  system.  If  venereal  disease  might  in  this 
manner  be  diminished,  little  by  little,  through 
the  generations,  it  might  be  seriously  con- 
sidered whether  the  grave  present  costs  ought 
not  to  be  assumed.  As  a fact,  so  long  as 
diseased  patrons  of  prostitution  are  permitted 
to  transmit  their  maladies  without  restraint, 
practically  no  permanent  improvement  is  to 
be  expected.  A brief  relaxation  of  sanitary 
control  would  restore  exactly  the  conditions 
prevailing  before  its  institution,  provided  the 
moral  habits  of  the  community  remained  un- 
changed. In  undertaking  one-sided  regula- 
tion, society  takes  upon  itself  a burden  which 
it  can  never  lay  down  without  losing  ev’^ery 
advantage  gained  by  its  assumption. 

This  fact  has  led  to  the  demand  that  all 
visitors  of  prostitutes  should  be  subjected  to 
sanitary  inspection.  The  scheme  is  obviously 
impracticable,  since  such  inspection  could  take 


Practical  Difficulties  in  Regulation  115 

place  only  in  the  brothel.  If  physical  exami- 
nation were  required  of  visitors  of  licensed 
brothels,  the  licensed  brothel  would  disappear 
for  want  of  patronage,  and  isolated  and  clan- 
destine prostitution  would  take  its  place. 


CHAPTER  IX 


THE  ACTUAL  EFFECTIVENESS  OF  SANITARY 
CONTROL 

Since  the  system  of  sanitary  control  of 
prostitution  has  been  tried  in  many  parts  of 
Europe,  and  since  it  has  in  some  cities  been 
consistently  applied  for  over  a centur}',  one 
would  naturally  expect  to  find  statistical  proof  of 
its  effectiveness  in  preventing  venereal  disease. 

In  attempting  to  establish  the  usefulness  of 
sanitary  control,  comparisons  of  morbidity 
have  been  made  between  cities  subject  to  reg- 
ulation and  cities  in  which  regulation  does  not 
exist ; secondly,  comparisons  of  morbidity  be- 
fore and  after  the  introduction  or  abolition  of 
regulation  have  been  made ; and  thirdly,  a 
study  has  been  made  of  the  comparative  fre- 
quency of  disease  in  cities  and  countries  where 
severity  of  control  has  varied.^ 

The  third  method  is,  of  course,  the  most 

’ Blaschko,  Conference  Internationale,  Brussels,  1899;  Rapports 
Priliminaires,  ire  Question,  76. 

116 


Effectiveness  of  Sanitary  Control  1 1 7 


doubtful  of  all.  The  degree  of  severity  of 
control  is  a mere  matter  of  opinion  ; the  fre- 
quency of  venereal  disease  in  the  general 
population  is  also  pretty  much  a matter  of 
opinion.  If  we  could  rely  implicitly  upon  the 
fairness  of  the  men  who  furnish  these  opinions, 
we  could  still  attach  little  importance  to  them. 
Under  present  circumstances,  there  are  very 
few  who  are  not  prejudiced  either  against  reg- 
ulation or  in  favor  of  it.  Still,  we  may  cite 
the  eminent  Russian  physician,  Sturmer,  as 
authority  for  the  statement  that  in  Russian 
cities,  when  the  control  is  relaxed,  disease  in- 
creases, and  the  reverse.^ 

Of  little  value,  if  any,  is  the  comparison  of 
morbidity  in  different  cities.  The  amount  of 
disease  may  vary  for  reasons  quite  indepen- 
dent of  the  system  of  control,  since  the  extent 
to  which  men  indulge  in  vicious  pleasures  de- 
pends largely  upon  their  resources,  upon  the 
moral  tone  of  the  community,  and  upon  the 
number  and  character  of  those  who  offer  such 
pleasures  for  sale.  Moreover,  the  possibility 
of  knowing  the  exact  amount  of  venereal  dis- 
ease varies  from  city  to  city.  Accordingly, 

' Conference  Internationale , Brussels,  1899  ; Compte  Rendu,  ire 
Question,  40. 


ii8  The  Social  Evil 

unless  there  is  an  exceedingly  marked  differ- 
ence in  respect  to  disease,  unless  it  may  be 
shown  to  be  exceedingly  prevalent  in  one 
place  and  almost  absent  in  another,  it  is  impos- 
sible to  demonstrate  the  influence  of  reeula- 
tion  in  this  way.  As  a fact,  no  reputable 
author  would  venture  to  affirm  that  venereal 
disease  is  more  frequent  in  London  or  New 
York  than  in  Paris  or  Berlin.  Assertions 
based  upon  a pr'iori  reasons  are  frequent 
enough,  but  they  stand  or  fall  with  the  reason- 
ing upon  which  they  are  based. 

Accordingly,  it  is  upon  statistics  of  morbid- 
ity for  a period  before  and  after  the  introduc- 
tion or  the  abolition  of  regulation  that  we 
must  rely,  if  we  are  to  get  statistical  proof  at 
all.  Even  here  it  is  necessary'  to  note  many 
sources  of  error.  Excepting  in  Norway,  only 
a fraction  of  the  actual  number  of  cases  of 
disease  fall  under  official  observation.  From 
the  reports  of  public  hospitals  and  from  statis- 
tics of  disease  in  the  army  and  navy,  it  is  nec- 
essary to  infer  the  extent  of  venereal  maladies 
in  the  general  population.  But  many  causes 
influence  the  number  of  those  who  apply  for 
admission  to  the  public  hospital.  An  eco- 
nomic crisis,  for  example,  might  compel  some 


Effectiveness  of  Sanitary  Control  119 


to  seek  admission  who,  under  ordinary  circum- 
stances, would  be  treated  by  private  physi- 
cians. If  military  service  is  compulsory, 
statistics  for  the  entire  army  will  show  with 
some  fidelity  the  curve  of  disease  in  the  whole 
country.  But  if  service  is  voluntary,  disease 
will  vary  with  the  class  of  men  who  enlist, 
and  that  will  in  turn  be  affected  by  economic 
and  social  causes  too  numerous  to  mention. 
Changes  may  take  place  in  the  quality  of 
medical  skill,  so  that  cases  of  disease  not 
counted  at  one  period  will  figure  in  the  statis- 
tics of  another.  Moreover,  it  is  a well-known 
fact  that  venereal  disease  is  subject  to  great 
fluctuations,  the  causes  of  which  are  not  suf- 
ficiently known.  These  fluctuations,  while 
often  extending  over  a great  part  of  Europe, 
vary  in  degree  from  place  to  place.  The  ef- 
fect of  such  fluctuations  upon  the  statistical 
problem  is  obvious.  A “ spontaneous  ” oscilla- 
tion, coinciding  in  time  with  the  introduction 
or  abolition  of  regulation,  may  greatly  accen- 
tuate or  may  altogether  neutralize  the  effect 
of  the  change.^ 

^ Report  on  Contagious  Diseases  Acts,  1882,  x.  Confirence  Inter- 
nationale, Brussels,  1899;  Rapports  PrPlhninaires,  ire  Question, 
Augagneur,  61  ; Enquetes,  i.,  Ehlers,  106  ; Enquetes,  ii.,  Annexe, 
Tommasoli,  39. 


120 


The  Social  Evil 


Such  is  the  gravity  of  this  source  of  error 
that  so  conservative  a writer  as  Blaschko  de- 
clares that  in  consequence  of  it  the  results  of 
regulation,  whatever  they  may  be,  either  do 
not  appear  at  all,  or  appear  very  indistinctly. 

Nevertheless,  it  may  be  worth  while  to  de- 
vote a brief  space  to  such  statistics  as  are  most 
often  cited  in  proof  of  various  theses.  The 
English  venereal  statistics  may  be  taken  first, 
as  they  are  the  best  known,  and  have  fre- 
quently been  compared  with  the  results  of  a 
laboratory  experiment. 

By  the  Contagious  Diseases  Acts,  put  into 
effect  in  1866,  twelve  districts  in  England  and 
two  in  Ireland,  chosen  on  account  of  the  num- 
ber of  soldiers  and  sailors  stationed  there  and 
on  account  of  the  prevalence  of  venereal  dis- 
ease, were  subjected  to  a system  of  regulation, 
modelled,  so  far  as  its  sanitary  features  were 
concerned,  after  the  Continental  systems.  In 
1883  the  Acts  were  suspended.  Accordingly, 
it  is  possible  to  study  the  effect  upon  the  army 
both  of  the  introduction  and  of  the  abrogation 
of  the  Acts.  In  order  to  eliminate,  as  far  as 
possible,  the  influence  of  the  periodic  oscilla- 
tions of  disease,  the  Parliamentary  reporters 
compared  with  the  venereal  statistics  of  the 


Effectiveness  of  Sanitary  Control  1 2 1 


fourteen  subjected  stations  those  of  all  unsub- 
jected stations. 

Primary  Sores.  Secondary  Syphilis.  Gonorrhoea. 
Stations 

not  Stations  Not  No 

Subjected.  Subjected.  Subjected.  Subjected.  Subjected.  Subjected. 
Per  1000  Men. 


I86I-I866 

103 

109.7 

30.7 

37.4 

108.2 

125. 1 

1867-1872 

93-6 

65-4 

29.2 

24.6 

105.4 

114.6 

Decline 

9^ 

40^ 

8% 

34^ 

3% 

8% 

1860-1863 

116.3 

129.8 

30.5 

40 

1 16. 1 

134.6 

1870-1873 

86 

52.5 

27-5 

20.3 

95 

106.6 

Decline 

26$ 

60% 

10^ 

49^ 

18^ 

24^' 

The  first  impression  created  by  these  figures 
is  that  a very  considerable  reduction  in  disease 
is  due  to  the  Acts.  But  even  a superficial  ex- 
amination is  sufficient  to  show  that  the  figures 
are  deceptive. 

Under  primary  sores  are  included  both  pri- 
mary syphilis  and  ulcus  molle.  The  latter  dis- 
ease, being  easily  discovered  and  easily  cured 
when  found,  would  naturally  be  the  first  to 
yield  to  sanitary  control.^ 

It  would  be  of  the  highest  practical  impor- 

^ Report,  Contagious  Diseases  Acts,  1882,  xi.-xiv. 

^ “ Prostitutes  may  conceal  gonorrhoea,  and  physicians  are  not  al- 
ways able  to  determine  whether  or  not  a person  is  infected  with 
syphilis  ; but  ulcus  molle  will  always  be  discovered  if  regulation  is 
efficient.  Consequently,  regulation  will  always  have  an  influence  upon 
ulcus  molle.  With  a good  system  it  may  become  rare,  and  may  even 
disappear.’’ — Reimers,  Conference  Internationale,  Brussels,  l8gg; 
Compte  Rendu,  ii.,  ire  Question,  g6. 


122 


The  Social  Evil 


tance  to  know  how  far  the  improvement  in  the 
subjected  stations  was  due  to  the  diminution  in 
this  form  of  disease.  Few  would  advocate  a 
system  of  regulation  if  its  chief  result  were 
merely  to  eliminate  that  comparatively  harm- 
less malady. 

The  figures  for  secondary  syphilis  are  no 
longer  considered  of  any  particular  impor- 
tance, since  it  is  impossible  to  say  where  the 
primary  syphilis,  of  which  the  secondary  is  a 
result,  was  contracted.  The  Parliamentary 
reporters  argue  that  in  the  shifting  about  of 
troops,  fewer  cases  of  latent  syphilis  left  the 
subjected  districts  than  were  brought  to  them, 
assuming  that  there  is  a constant  ratio  between 
the  number  of  cases  of  secondary  syphilis  and 
that  of  primary,  and  assuming  that  primary 
syphilis  was  less  common  in  the  subjected  sta- 
tions. The  first  of  these  assumptions  is  not 
exactly  true,  and  the  second  is  not  proven, 
owing  to  the  grouping  of  cases  of  the  two 
kinds  of  disease.  In  default  of  actual  proof  as 
to  the  decline  of  primary  syphilis,  the  statistics 
for  secondary  syphilis  are  devoid  of  all  sig- 
nificance. 

The  decline  in  gonorrhoea  is  too  slight  to  be 
of  much  importance.  Even  if  such  a decline 


Effectiveness  of  Sanitary  Control  123 


were  demonstrably  due  to  regulation,  one 
would  hardly  find  in  it  much  of  an  argument 
for  the  introduction  of  a system  of  regulation.^ 
Accordingly,  all  that  is  proved  by  the  statis- 
tics of  disease  during  the  existence  of  the  Acts 
is  that  a reduction  in  primary  lesions  was  ef- 
fected. This  is  shown  conclusively,  it  would 
appear,  by  a comparison  of  the  curve  of  pri- 
mary sores  in  the  fourteen  subjected  stations 
and  the  curve  for  fourteen  unsubjected  sta- 
tions chosen  for  the  sake  of  comparison. 

But  even  if  we  grant  that  a decline  in  pri- 
mary syphilis  took  place,  it  still  remains  a 
question  whether  any  light  is  thrown  upon  the 
problem  of  reglementation  in  large  cities. 
Most  of  the  stations  selected  for  the  English 
experiment  were  towns  and  small  cities.  A 
moment’s  reflection  will  show  that  in  such 
places  the  possibility  of  compelling  all  prosti- 
tutes to  comply  with  the  regulations  is  infi- 
nitely greater  than  in  the  great  city.  Clandes- 
tine prostitution  can  thrive  only  in  great  centres 
of  population. 

In  a civil  population,  it  seems  reasonable 
that  a general  belief  in  the  safety  of  prostitu- 

' Kromayer,  after  a detailed  study  of  the  English  statistics,  con- 
cludes that  gonorrhoea  was  not  really  affected  at  all  by  the  Acts. 


124 


The  Social  Evil 


tion  will  increase  the  patronage  of  vice,  and 
thus  neutralize  to  a certain  extent  whatever 
sanitary  benefit  may  be  due  to  control.  In  an 
army,  the  effect  would  probably  be  less  marked, 
since  soldiers  are  generally  men  whose  habits 
are  already  formed,  and  who  do  not  usually 
look  upon  venereal  diseases  with  as  much 
fear  as  does  the  civilian.  Accordingly,  there 
is  reason  to  look  for  a much  greater  improve- 
ment in  the  health  of  an  army,  as  a result  of 
regulation,  than  in  the  health  of  the  general 
population. 

Norwegian  statistics  would  seem  to  give 
more  useful  information  than  do  those  of  Eng- 
land. In  1888  regulation  was  abolished  for 
all  of  Norway  excepting  Bergen  and  Trond- 
hjem.  From  the  figures  of  Holst,  it  appears 
that  immediately  after  the  abolition  of  regula- 
tion a rise  in  the  number  of  cases  of  venereal 
disease  took  place  for  all  Norway.^ 

The  statistics  for  Norway  present,  however, 
the  same  flaw  that  impairs  the  value  of  the 
English  statistics.  They  do  not  enable  us  to 
know  how  far  syphilis  alone  increased  after  the 
abolition  of  regulation.  Moreover,  we  cannot 

' Holst,  Conference  Internationale,  Brussels,  1899  ; Enquetes,  i., 
128. 


Effectiveness  of  Sanitary  Control  125 


be  certain  that  cases  of  disease  were  as  care- 
fully reported  before  1888  as  after  that  year. 
In  these  respects  the  statistics  for  the  city  of 
Christiania  are  far  more  satisfactory.  The 
curve  of  disease  indicates  that  after  the  aboli- 
tion of  regulation,  all  three  forms  of  venereal 
disease  increased.  The  increase  is  particu- 
larly marked  in  the  case  of  gonorrhoea.^  This 
is  somewhat  surprising,  since  both  a priori 
reasons  and  the  facts  of  experience  would 
lead  one  to  expect  a more  radical  change  in  the 
curve  of  ulcus  molle^  at  least,  than  in  that  of 
gonorrhoea. 

The  rise,  however,  is  by  no  means  suoh  an 
extraordinary  one  as  would  be  expeeted  by 
those  who  look  upon  reglementation  as  the 
solution  of  the  sanitary  problem.  Moreover, 
it  is  a question  whether  there  were  not  other 
forees  at  work  which  tended  to  increase  the 
volume  of  disease.  From  1879  1888  the 

population  of  Christiania  increased  from  116,- 
801  to  138,319.  By  1898  the  population  had 
increased  to  about  220,000.  The  average  an- 
nual increase  for  the  former  period  was  less 
than  2200;  for  the  latter,  about  8200.  When 

' Holst,  Conference  Internationale,  Brussels,  1899  ; Enquites,  i., 
126. 


126 


The  Social  Evil 


it  is  remembered  that  the  more  rapid  the 
growth  of  a city  is,  the  greater  the  proportion 
of  young  and  unmarried  men  and  the  greater 
the  relative  volume  of  vice  will  be,  it  does  not 
seem  unreasonable  that  an  increase  in  disease 
would  have  taken  place  even  if  reglementation 
had  not  been  abolished. 

It  is  also  a question  whether  1888  did  not 
introduce  a period  of  spontaneous  increase  in 
venereal  disease.  The  general  oscillations  of 
disease  are  not  confined  to  any  single  countr)". 
Now,  the  nearest  culminating  point  of  syphilis 
in  Copenhagen  was  in  i886,  corresponding 
with  a similar  point  in  Christiania  in  1882.  In 
Copenhagen  there  was  an  abrupt  descent  of 
the  curve  of  syphilis,  reaching  the  lowest  point 
in  1892,  then  rising  again.^ 

At  Lyons,  a decline  from  1883  to  1888  was 
followed  by  an  increase  from  1889  to  1893. 
At  Paris,  a decrease  from  1883  to  1888  was 
followed  by  an  increase.  In  Colmar,  the  de- 
cline continued  from  1882  to  1887,  followed  by 
an  increase  in  1888  and  1889.^  In  the  Italian 
army,  a decline  from  1881  to  1888  was  fol- 

' Conference  Internationale,  Brussels,  1899;  Enquetes,\.,  ro6. 

* Augagneur,  Conference  Internationale,  Brussels,  1S99  ; Rapports 
Freiiminaires,  ire  Question,  61. 


Effectiveness  of  Sanitary  Control  127 


lowed  by  an  increase.  Augagneur  states  that, 
for  about  the  same  period,  the  same  thing  is 
true  of  the  French  and  English  armies.  Ac- 
cordingly, it  is  an  open  question  whether  the 
increase  that  followed  the  abolition  of  regula- 
tion in  Norway  was  due  to  it. 

In  Italy,  a system  of  regulation  which  had 
been  in  force  for  about  thirty  years  was 
abolished,  nominally,  in  1888.  As  a fact,  the 
ministry  did  everything  possible  to  discredit 
abolition.  Statistics  were  collected  and  abused 
especially  to  that  end.  Moreover,  the  sanitary 
regulations  were  still  enforced  in  many  cities, 
in  spite  of  the  law.  Accordingly,  the  statistics 
of  Italy  are  worthless,  so  far  as  showing  the 
effect  of  regulation  is  concerned.^  The  statis- 
tics of  the  Italian  army  show  that  after  1888 
an  increase  in  venereal  disease  did  actually 
take  place.  But  it  cannot  be  demonstrated 
that  the  increase  was  due  to  the  “ abolition  ” 
of  regulation.  It  was  just  as  probably  in  part 
or  wholly  due  to  “ spontaneous  ” oscillation. 

The  statistics  of  isolated  cities  or  towns  which 
have  adopted  or  discontinued  sanitary  control 
are  sometimes  cited  as  proof  of  the  efficacy  of 

’ Tommasoli,  Conference  Internationale,  Brussels,  1899  ; En- 
quetes,  ii.,  Annexe. 


128 


The  Social  Evil 


regulation.  It  is  obvious  that  such  statistics 
can  be  of  little  value,  unless  the  city  is  a great 
one,  and  unless  the  system  is  enforced  for  a 
number  of  years.  Upon  the  introduction  of 
a system  of  control,  it  is  the  most  natural  thing 
for  prostitutes  who  know  they  are  diseased  to 
move  to  another  town.  It  is  only  by  degrees 
that  they  learn  that  it  is  possible  to  evade  regu- 
lations that  are  inconvenient  for  them.  Un- 
doubtedly, such  emigration  would  have  an 
immediate  salutary  effect  upon  the  city  from 
which  they  go.  The  effect  upon  the  country 
as  a whole  is,  however,  practically  nil.  The 
experience  of  Colmar,  a small  city  in  Upper 
Alsace,  and  of  Glasgow,  would  seem  to  indi- 
cate that  a policy  of  absolute  repression  would 
have  the  same  effect.  It  is  unfortunate  that 
we  have  no  reliable  statistics  for  a great  city 
which  has  introduced  a really  scientific  system 
of  regulation.  For  a small  city,  the  town  of 
Dorpat  in  Livonia  has  probably  been  more 
successful  in  making  a good  showing  than  any 
other.  That  city  had  always  been  noted  for 
the  severity  of  venereal  disease,  and  was  con- 
sidered especially  dangerous  as  a station  for 
troops.  In  1898,  after  three  years  of  really 
efficient  regulation,  the  commandant  of  the 


Effectiveness  of  Sanitary  Control  1 29 

garrison  reported  that  not  one  of  the  thousand 
men  stationed  there  had  contracted  primary 
syphilis  during  the  yeard 

The  most  absurdly  imperfect  experiment 
upon  which  arguments  were  ever  based  was 
that  of  St.  Louis,  from  1870-1874.  According 
to  this  regulation,  the  city  was  divided  into  six 
districts.  One  physician  in  each  district  was 
to  visit  the  houses  of  prostitution  and  the 
apartments  where  isolated  prostitutes  lived,  and 
might  make  physical  examinations  if  he  thought 
it  necessary.  It  is  easy  to  imagine  how  much 
chance  there  was  of  detecting  disease  under 
such  a system  of  regulation.  The  claim  has 
been  made  that  the  number  of  prostitutes 
diminished,  as  well  it  may  have  done,  since 
many  prostitutes  would  prefer  other  cities, 
where  they  were  free,  to  one  in  which  they 
were  taxed  and  controlled.  It  has  been  claimed 
by  some  that  venereal  disease  diminished  ; by 
others,  that  it  increased ; neither  claim  being 
supported  by  facts  worth  anything.  For  all 
anyone  knows,  disease  may  have  decreased  or 
it  may  have  increased.  Whatever  the  change 
in  morbidity,  such  regulations  can  hardly  be 
credited  with  it. 


Strohmberg,  op.  cit.,  206. 


130 


The  Social  Evil 


In  view  of  the  above  considerations,  it  is  no 
wonder  that  the  enlightened  supporters  as  well 
as  the  enlightened  opponents  of  reglementa- 
tion  are  practically  agreed  upon  rejecting  such 
statistics  as  we  have  at  present,  preferring  to 
rely  upon  a priori  reasoning  and  common 
sensed 

If  it  were  true  that  the  enormous  sanitary 
improvements  that  the  supporters  of  regula- 
tion expect  from  it  could  be  realized,  or  if 
regulation  brought  about  the  thorough-going 
demoralization  that  its  opponents  dread,  statis- 
tics, imperfect  as  they  are,  would  show  it.  But 
since  the  influence,  whatever  it  may  be,  is  com- 
paratively slight,  statistics  cannot  possibly  es- 
tablish it  beyond  cavil. 

It  is,  then,  upon  common  sense  that  one  is 
compelled  to  rely  in  deciding  whether,  with  all 
its  imperfections,  existing  regulation  does  much 

* “ It  is  a long  time  that  I have  studied  statistics.  Well,  I do  not 
believe  that  there  are  any  that  are  of  value.” — Fournier,  Confirence 
Inter nationale,  Brussels,  1899  ; Compte  Rendrt,  ire  Question,  29. 

“ It  is  my  conviction,  based  upon  studies  continued,  I am  almost 
sorry  to  say,  through  years,  that  one  cannot  prove,  by  statistics,  the 
effect  of  regulation  of  prostitution  upon  the  spread  of  venereal  dis- 
ease.”— Neisser,  ibid.,  35. 

“In  general,  one  believes  no  statistics  but  his  own.  One  may 
support  a thesis  by  statistical  data,  but  he  will  never  convince  an 
adversary  by  arguments  of  that  kind.” — Lassar,  ibid.,  33. 


Effectiveness  of  Sanitary  Control  13 1 


good.  However  imperfect  the  system  may  be, 
it  nevertheless  remains  that  many  prostitutes 
who  are  capable  of  transmitting  disease  are 
discovered  and  sent  to  the  hospital.  The  gist 
of  the  matter,  according  to  Tarnowsky,  is  that 
a syphilitic  prostitute  when  locked  up  in  a hos- 
pital is  less  dangerous  to  society  than  when 
she  is  at  large.* ** 

Burlereaux,  according  to  Barthelemy,  ob- 
served thirty-five  soldiers  of  a battalion  in- 
fected with  syphilis  by  the  same  woman. 
Would  it  not  have  been  an  advantage  to  have 
locked  her  up  before  so  much  damage  had 
been  done  ? 

Dr.  Commenge  has  estimated  the  probable 
good  due  to  Parisian  regulation.^  From  1887 
to  1897,  15,095  prostitutes  have  been  sent  to 
the  hospital  of  the  prison  of  St.  Lazare  to  be 
treated  for  syphilis.  Assuming  that  the  aver- 
age period  of  confinement  was  thirty  days  and 
that  each  one  would  have  contaminated  ten 
men,  150,950  men  have  been  saved  from  a 
horrible  disease. 

There  is  something  childish  about  such 


* op.  cit.,  318. 

**  Conference  Internationale,  Brussels,  iSgg  ; Communications,  i.. 
Appendix,  125. 


132 


The  Social  Evil 


reasoning  as  this.  If  venereal  disease  is  as 
frightfully  prevalent  among  the  clandestine 
prostitutes  as  all  supporters  of  regulation  claim, 
and  if  the  clandestine  so  far  outnumber  the 
registered  prostitutes  as  they  also  claim,  then 
the  man  who  is  saved  from  the  great  probabil- 
ity of  being  infected  by  the  diseased  registered 
prostitute  runs  almost  as  great  a risk  of  infec- 
tion from  other  prostitutes.  Common  sense 
would  admit  that  the  risk  is  less,  but  how  much 
less  it  is  puerile  to  attempt  to  discover.  One 
may  be  pretty  sure  that  some  of  Burlereaux’s 
thirty-five  soldiers  would  have  contracted 
syphilis  elsewhere ; but  omniscience  alone 
would  make  it  possible  to  know  how  many. 

It  is  obvious  that  if  the  number  of  prosti- 
tutes controlled  is  a small  fraction  of  the  total 
number,  the  value  of  control  is  zero,  since  the 
number  of  diseased  actually  removed  from 
active  commerce  is  but  an  infinitesimal  part  of 
the  volume  of  disease  to  which  the  patrons  of 
prostitution  habitually  expose  themselves.^ 
Regulation  may  be  worth  less  than  zero,  if  an 
impression  of  safety  is  produced  without  ade. 
quate  reason.^ 

' Strohmberg,  op.  cit.,  144. 

’“The  public  believes  that  this  service  ” (sanitary  control)  “is 


Effectiveness  of  Sanitary  Control  133 


How  near  the  efficiency  of  existing  systems 
is  to  the  zero  point  it  is  impossible  to  say. 
Some  reliance  may,  however,  be  placed  upon 
the  opinions  of  those  who  have  spent  much  of 
their  life  in  studying  the  subject.  It  is  worth 
noting  that  Parent-Duchatelet,  Behrend,Hugel, 
and  almost  all  other  writers  of  the  first  half  of 
the  nineteenth  century,  also  many  present-day 
writers  in  America,^  never  doubted  that  im- 

very  easy  ; that  since  the  women  have  a direct  professional  interest 
in  being  well,  there  are  practically  no  refractory  ones  at  all,  and  that 
it  is  possible  to  have  commerce  with  them  without  fear  as  though 
free  from  danger.  It  is  here  that  the  danger  lies  ; it  is  this  security 
that  is  perilous,  since  a man  exposes  himself  without  the  habitual 
precautions.” — Ba.Tth.i\&m.y,Conf&ence  Iniernationale,Brussels,\?)()()-, 
Rapports  PrBiminaires,  ire  Question,  5. 

* “ One  thing  is  certain,  everyone  agrees, — the  partisans  of  regu- 
lation not  excepted, — that  the  methods  actually  in  use  for  diminish- 
ing the  evils  of  prostitution  cannot  be  considered  effective.  The 
organization  and  administration  of  the  surveillance,  medical  and 
police,  are  so  defective,  in  our  opinion,  that  but  little  is  to  be  ex- 
pected from  it.” — Neisser,  Bulletin  de  la  Socidte  Internationale  de 
Prophylaxie  Sanitaire  et  Morale,  I.,  i. 

“ I am  asked,  ' Are  you  satisfied  with  the  existing  regulations  ? ’ 
— ‘ No.’ — ‘ But  you  speak  well  of  them.’ — ‘ Yes,  for  they  do  a little 
good."’ — Fournier,  Conference  Internationale,  Brussels,  l8gg;  Compte 
Rendu,  ire  Question,  100. 

“ A system  of  regulation  in  which  arbitrary  methods  of  registra- 
tion are  employed,  which  does  not  realize  the  purposes  of  sanitary 
inspection,  which  cripples  the  utility  of  compulsory  treatment 
through  premature  dismissal  from  the  hospital, — such  a system  of 
regulation  is  certainly  of  little  value.” — Tarnowsky,  op.  cit.,  205. 

Augagneur  and  Blaschko  are  inclined  to  deny  that  existing  systems 
of  regulation  do  any  good  at  all.  Kromayer  is  certain  that  one  of 


134 


The  Social  Evil 


mense  sanitary  advantages  from  control  were 
easily  demonstrated.  Modern  authorities,  on 
the  other  hand,  are  content  to  claim  for  regu- 
lation merely  a modicum  of  good,  or  look 
upon  it  as  a stock  upon  which  really  useful 
control  may  be  grafted. 

the  most  serious  diseases,  gonorrhoea,  is  not  influenced  in  the  least 
by  regulation  as  it  exists. 


CHAPTER  X 


PROBABLE  EFFECTIVENESS  OF  REGLEMENTATION 
IN  NEW  YORK 

The  problems  which  reglementation  has  to 
solve  differ  from  city  to  city.  Accordingly,  it 
is  not  sufficient  for  the  present  purpose  to 
show  how  far  it  has  succeeded  in  other  cities  ; 
but  each  problem  relating  to  reglementation 
must  be  considered  with  respect  to  the  legal 
institutions,  the  racial  and  local  characteristics, 
the  social  and  economic  conditions  of  the  city 
of  immediate  interest — New  York. 

The  legal  question  is  obviously  one  which 
can  be  decided  only  by  legal  specialists.  It  is 
in  a way  preliminary  to  all  further  discussion, 
since  constitutional  obstacles  to  reglementa- 
tion, if  such  exist,  are  practically  insurmounta- 
ble. The  regulation  of  prostitution  can  be  a 
burning  question  only  in  the  large  city  ; and 
even  if  it  were  agreed  by  the  inhabitants  of 
the  city  that  reglementation  is  expedient,  the 
hostility  or  indifference  of  the  country  at  large 


135 


136 


The  Social  Evil 


would  make  it  impossible  to  carry  a constitu- 
tional amendment  for  the  sake  of  its  realization. 

All  that  can  be  attempted  here  is  to  state 
the  problem,  and  to  indicate  the  main  theories 
that  have  been  advanced  for  its  solution. 

The  essential  features  of  a system  of  regie- 
mentation  are  the  periodical  examination  and 
treatment  in  the  lock-hospital  for  venereal 
diseases.  No  legal  difficulty  would  arise  if  the 
prostitute  could  be  induced  to  submit  to  the 
rules  voluntarily.  But  a very  large  class  will 
never  submit ; hence  compulsion  is  absolutely 
necessary  if  the  system  is  to  be  effective. 
Manifestly,  it  would  be  impossible  to  impose 
compulsory  physical  examinations  and  impris- 
onment for  extended  treatment  without  de- 
priving the  persons  subjected  to  them  of  a 
large  share  of  their  personal  liberty. 

The  most  familiar  line  of  defence  for  such  a 
f restriction  upon  individual  liberty  is  the  dec- 
laration that  prostitution  is  a status,  analogous 
to  the  military  status,  which  limits  the  civil 

V rights  of  the  individual  and  subjects  him  to 
special  regulations  and,  possibly,  to  special 
tribunals.  This  is  practically  the  view  of  Eu- 
ropean reglementists.  It  is  doubtful,  however, 
whether  American  constitutional  law  would 


Effectiveness  of  Reglementation  137 


admit  the  right  of  a legislature  to  create  a 
special  status  of  this  kind. 

A second  manner  of  defending  reglementa- 
tion is  to  classify  prostitution  with  occupations 
that  are  subject  to  police  regulation,  such  as 
cab-driving,  the  keeping  of  a hotel,  and  the 
like.  Regulations  may  decide  under  what  con- 
ditions such  a trade  may  be  carried  on  and 
under  what  conditions  it  is  not  permissible. 
Infractions  of  the  rules  may  be  subject  to 
special  penalties.  The  periodical  examination 
could,  perhaps,  be  defended  in  such  a manner.^ 
Physical  examination  would  be  a condition 
precedent  to  the  exercise  of  the  trade.  But 
imprisonment  for  treatment  would  seem  to  be 
more  difficult  to  defend.  Would  it  be  possible 
to  imprison  a cabman  whose  license  has  been 
revoked  and  who  is  suspected  of  intending  to 
carry  on  his  occupation  unauthorized  ? Such 
a procedure  seems  to  be  perfectly  analogous 
to  the  forcible  detention  of  the  diseased  pros- 
titute. Accordingly,  reglementation  must  dis- 
cover some  other  basis  than  that  of  special 
regulation  of  a special  trade. 

' It  may  be  remarked  that  in  Russia,  workers  in  factories  are 
theoretically  subject  to  periodical  physical  examinations,  and  that  in 
Posen  all  barmaids  are  subjected  to  such  examination  before  enter- 
ing upon  a position. 


138 


The  Social  Evil 


But  whether  prostitution  is  viewed  as  a 
special  status  or  a special  occupation,  some 
clear  definition  of  prostitution  and  some  work- 
able method  of  establishing  the  fact  of  prosti- 
tution are  essential.  It  is  absurd  to  believe  that 
the  mere  suspicion  of  police  agents  or  the  mere 
fact  of  venereal  disease  would  be  sufficient  in 
America,  as  it  is  in  France  and  Germany,  to 
prove  that  a woman  belongs  to  the  status  of 
professional  prostitution,  or  exercises  prostitu- 
tion as  a regular  trade,  so  long  as  she  denies  the 
fact.  Legal  proof  would  be  absolutely  neces- 
sary for  placing  a woman  in  such  a status  or 
class,  and  such  proof  must  necessarily  in  the 
majority  of  cases  be  difficult,  if  not  impossible, 
to  obtain. 

Another  common  method  of  providing  a 
legal  basis  for  reglementation  is  to  bring  it 
under  the  class  of  police  regulations  for  pre- 
venting the  spread  of  contagious  diseases. 
The  analogy  between  the  compulsory  treat- 
ment of  venereal  disease  and  the  isolation  of 
those  who  suffer  from  other  contagious  mal- 
adies,  would,  perhaps,  be  perfect  if  all  venereal 
patients  were  subjected  to  the  same  treatment. 
This  would,  however,  be  Impossible  under 
present  conditions  ; and  to  make  the  regulation 


Effectiveness  of  Reglementation  139 

apply  to  a special  class  only,  would,  of  course, 
require  the  creation  of  such  a special  class,  and 
thus  would  raise  the  difficulties  which  have 
been  pointed  out  above. 

A fourth  plan  is  that  of  restoring  ancient 
laws  making  prostitution  a crime  or  a misde- 
meanor and  of  leaving  to  the  police  courts  dis- 
cretionary power  as  to  the  penalties  imposed. 
It  is  conceivable  that  by  a series  of  legal  fic- 
tions the  diseased  prostitutes  might  be  sub- 
jected to  imprisonment  in  hospitals,  while 
those  not  found  to  be  diseased  might  be  per- 
mitted to  go  unpunished.  If  such  a procedure 
is  not  unconstitutional,  it  would  probably  pro- 
vide a sufficient  basis  for  a system  of  sanitary 
regulation  of  vice.  The  difficulty  would  still 
remain  that  sufficient  proof  of  prostitution 
would  be  required,  — a difficulty  which  is  prac- 
tically insurmountable. 

It  remains  to  be  considered  whether  it  would 
be  possible  to  overcome  the  natural  objections 
of  women  of  this  class  to  police  regulations,  so 
that  submission  to  its  rules  might  be  voluntary. 
This  could  only  be  done  by  granting  special 
privileges  to  those  who  submit.  A relentless 
persecution  of  those  who  do  not  submit  to  the 
regulations  and  immunity  from  arrest  to  those 


140 


The  Social  Evil 


who  do  submit,  would  undoubtedly  drive  many 
to  accept  registration  and  periodical  examina- 
tion as  the  lesser  of  two  evils.  Accordingly, 
the  question  of  regulation  based  upon  quasi- 
voluntary inscription  resolves  itself  into  the 
question  of  the  possibility  of  coping  wdth 
“ clandestine  ” or  unsubjected  prostitution. 

The  first  question  to  be  considered  has  to 
do  with  the  efficiency  of  the  police  organiza- 
tion itself.  Experience  has  shown  conclu- 
sively that  for  the  morals  service,  special 
agents,  endowed  with  rare  qualities  of  tact, 
shrewdness  and  integrity,  are  necessary. 
Doubtless  the  materials  for  a special  force  of 
agents  can  be  found  in  an  American  city.  But 
it  stands  to  reason  that  it  would  take  time  to 
organize  as  efficient  a force  as  that  of  Paris  or 
Berlin.  For  this  reason,  it  must  be  expected 
that  for  a time  excess  of  caution,  varied  by 
unfortunate  excess  of  zeal,  would  mar  the 
working  of  the  system.  This  defect  would 
cure  itself  with  time,  however,  and  so  may  be 
dismissed. 

But,  granted  a force  of  the  highest  degree 
of  efficiency,  it  is  evident  that  the  problem  of 
coping  with  clandestine  prostitution  in  New 
York  would  be  exceptionally  difficult.  The 


Effectiveness  of  Reglementation  141 

freedom  with  which  women  and  girls  of  good 
character  frequent  public  places  unattended,  or 
pass  through  the  streets  alone  in  the  evening, 
is  not  paralleled  in  any  European  city.  In 
Paris,  Lecour  could  arrest  a young  woman 
who  waited  for  her  husband  at  the  door  of 
a shop,  “ because  no  decent  woman  lingered 
upon  the  sidewalk.”  Imagine  a New  York 
agent  of  police  acting  upon  such  inferences  ! 
It  is  needless  to  dwell  upon  this  fact,  since 
anyone  can  understand  that  American  habits 
of  life  make  it  possible  for  a discreet  prostitute 
to  exercise  her  vocation  much  longer  without 
rousing  the  suspicion  of  a limited  force  of 
police  agents  than  she  could  possibly  do  in 
Paris  or  Berlin. 

A second  consideration  is  the  greater  diffi- 
culty that  an  American  morals  police  would 
find  in  acting  upon  its  suspicions.  On  the  Con- 
tinent of  Europe  a person  generally  lives  more 
or  less  under  the  eyes  of  the  police.  Birth 
certificates,  passports,  employment  cards,  and 
the  like  are  in  fairly  general  use,  so  that  it  is 
not  difficult  for  the  police  to  have  an  insight 
into  the  antecedents  and  means  of  livelihood  of 
the  resident  population.  It  is  easy  to  see  how 
such  data  would  be  of  the  utmost  importance 


142 


The  Social  Evil 


in  segregating  that  part  of  the  population 
which  will  bear  watching.  The  antecedents 
of  any  person  who  may  immigrate  into  a city 
are  likewise  easily  determined.  But  in  New 
York  the  police  would  have  no  help  from  such 
data.  A secret  service,  however  ubiquitous, 
could  acquaint  itself  with  the  life  of  only  a 
fraction  of  the  population  of  New  York. 

Again,  it  makes  much  difference  whether  the 
vicious  element  in  the  population  is  very  migra- 
tory in  its  habits  or  not.  It  takes  time  before 
the  conduct  of  a new  arrival  draws  suspicion. 
Still  more  time  elapses  before  the  suspicion  is 
sufficiently  strong  to  justify  police  action. 
The  person  observed  may  be  ready  to  remove 
to  another  city,  or  to  another  part  of  the  same 
city,  before  anything  can  be  done  to  fix  her 
status. 

The  prostitute  is  notorious  everywhere  for 
her  migratory  habits.  Self-interest  may,  how- 
ever, compel  her  to  remain  in  the  same  city 
when  her  whims  would  lead  her  to  migrate.  A 
city  which  is  preeminently  the  centre  of  the  life 
of  a whole  country  will  naturally  be  the  place 
to  which  prostitutes  will  flock,  and  whence  they 
may  usually  depart  only  with  loss  in  earning 
power.  Paris  and  Berlin  occupy  such  posi- 
tions. New  York,  on  the  other  hand,  is  only 


Effectiveness  of  Reglementation  143 

one,  although  the  greatest  one,  of  a number  of 
great  American  cities.  As  a centre  of  profes- 
sional vice,  it  would  be  scarcely  more  attractive 
than  Philadelphia  or  Chicago,  or  even  a num- 
ber of  lesser  cities.  What  is  more,  the  far 
greater  incomes  of  American  prostitutes  make 
it  easier  for  them  to  move  from  place  to  place 
than  it  is  for  European  prostitutes. 

In  view  of  these  considerations,  it  is  evident 
that  the  problem  of  combating  clandestine  pros- 
titution in  New  York  is  far  more  difficult  than 
in  European  cities.  One  fact  is,  however,  to 
be  set  against  these,  and  that  is  that  the  occa- 
sional prostitute,  who  merely  ekes  out  an  in- 
sufficient wage  by  vicious  earnings,  is  probably 
less  common  in  New  York  than  in  Berlin,  and 
perhaps  than  in  Paris.  And  this  is  the  most 
difficult  to  cope  with  of  all  forms  of  clandes- 
tine prostitution. 

It  remains  to  consider  whether  it  would  be 
possible  to  retain  as  efficient  a control  over 
prostitutes  once  registered  as  it  is  in  European 
cities.  This  also  seems  doubtful.  It  is  well 
known  that  prostitutes  are  more  or  less  refrac- 
tory, according  to  the  characteristics  of  the 
people  from  whom  they  spring.  The  American 
impatience  of  authority  would  certainly  make 
itself  manifest  in  the  spirit  with  which  these 


144 


The  Social  Evil 


women  would  obey  regulations.  The  Parisian 
authorities  find  great  difficulty  in  following  up 
the  prostitutes  who  withdraw  themselves  from 
control  by  changing  their  habitations.  In  view 
of  American  notions  of  inviolability  of  domi- 
cile, it  is  hard  to  see  why  it  would  not  be  very 
easy  for  a prostitute  to  drop  out  of  sight  alto- 
gether by  merely  moving  from  one  part  of  the 
city  to  another.  Moreover,  if  diseased,  she 
would  be  exceedingly  likely  to  prefer  a few 
months’  sojourn  in  another  city  to  a period  of 
confinement  in  a lock-hospital.  And  while  the 
amount  of  disease  originating  in  Nev/  York 
might  be  diminished,  the  amount  of  disease  in 
the  country  as  a whole  would  remain  practically 
the  same.  Under  such  conditions,  it  is  evident 
that  no  permanent  advance  in  the  combating 
of  venereal  disease  could  be  made,  since  a 
momentary  relaxation  of  reglementation  would 
mean  a restoration  of  the  conditions  prevailing 
before  its  introduction. 

In  almost  every  respect,  then.  New  York 
presents  a more  difficult  problem  with  respect 
to  reglementation  than  Paris  or  Berlin.  If 
reglementation  does  only  a “ little  good  ” in 
the  latter  cities,  it  would  necessarily  do  less 
good  in  New  York. 


CHAPTER  XI 


MORAL  REGULATION  OF  VICE 

It  is  customary  to  speak  as  though  there 
were  but  three  possible  ways  of  dealing  with 
prostitution,  absolute  laissez  faire,  absolute 
prohibition  of  vice,  and  reglementation. 

It  is  very  cogently  argued  that  laissez  faire 
is  an  inadmissible  policy.  Not  only  does 
venereal  disease  extend  its  ravages  unchecked, 
but  every  sort  of  moral  iniquity  thrives  where- 
ever  vice  is  a law  unto  itself.  With  equal  co- 
gency it  is  argued  that  no  human  legislator  can 
make  vicious  men  or  women  virtuous,  or  pre- 
serve so  close  a surveillance  over  them  as  to 
prevent  the  exercise  of  their  evil  propensities. 
Thus,  by  a process  of  exclusion,  reglementa- 
tion is  arrived  at  as  the  only  rational  policy  for 
Government  to  pursue. 

It  is  difficult  to  understand  how  such  naive 
reasoning  can  still  be  entertained  by  thinking 
men.  Regulative  and  repressive  systems  dif- 
fer in  emphasis,  rather  than  in  essence.  The 


145 


146 


The  Social  Evil 


first  aim  of  the  reglementist  is  to  check  dis- 
ease ; he  recognizes,  however,  the  gravity  of 
vice  in  itself,  and  admits  that  no  measures 
that  may  limit  its  volume  are  to  be  disre- 
garded. The  opponent  of  reglementation, 
while  believing  that  vice  itself  is  an  evil  that 
completely  overshadows  any  hygienic  effects 
that  result  from  it,  will  generally  admit  that 
all  means  for  combating  venereal  disease 
should  be  adopted,  provided  that  they  are  not 
directly  antagonistic  to  moral  ends.  Accord- 
ingly,  we  find  many  elements,  both  moral  and 
sanitary,  upon  which  both  parties  agree.  A 
system  of  control  based  upon  such  common 
elements  and  supplemented  somewhat  as  com- 
mon sense  suggests,  would  escape  the  serious 
charge,  now  brought  against  reglementation, 
of  making  itself  ancillary  to  prostitution,  and 
would  at  the  same  time  be  free  from  the  moral 
and  hygienic  futility  of  violent  repression. 
Such  a system  would  abandon  the  task  of 
effecting  the  impossible,  in  either  morals  or 
hygiene,  and  would  reserve  the  powers  at  its 
command  for  the  bringing  about  of  such  ameli- 
orations as  experience  and  reason  have  shown 
to  be  possible.  Such  a system  we  may  term 
the  Moral  Regulation  of  Vice,  since  it  would 


Moral  Regulation  of  Vice  147 


never  lose  sight  of  the  fact  that  moral  consid- 
erations are  of  paramount  importance. 

Repressive  Features  in  Moral  Control. — 
The  first  point  upon  which  all  are  agreed  is 
the  necessity  of  suppressing,  so  far  as  possible, 
flagrant  incitement  to  debauch.  Solicitation 
upon  the  street  and  in  public  places  should  be 
restrained  ; haunts  of  vice  should  be  compelled 
to  assume  the  appearance  of  decency  ; in  short, 
every  method  of  conspicuous  advertising  of 
vice  should  be  done  away  with.  It  is  ad-‘ 
mitted  that  this  can  be  only  approximately 
accomplished.  The  prostitute  will  always  con- 
trive to  make  her  presence  known.  But  much 
would  be  gained  if  vice  could  be  made  rela- 
tively inconspicuous  except  to  its  votaries. 
The  constant  presence  of  women  known  to  be 
immoral  serves  to  recruit  each  year  the  patron- 
age of  prostitution  by  inciting  to  vice  many 
who  would  not  of  themselves  have  sought 
illicit  pleasures.  From  this  point  of  view,  it  is 
far  better  that  prostitutes  should  be  clandes- 
tine in  fact  as  well  as  in  name  than  that  they 
should  appear  in  their  true  colors.  A sys- 
tem which  places  moral  ends  before  sanitary 
would  be  just  as  capable  of  dealing  with  this 
part  of  the  problem  as  one  which  regards 


148 


The  Social  Evil 


sanitary  ends  as  paramount.  As  a practical  fact, 
the  former  system  would  encounter  less  diffi- 
culty than  the  latter,  since  the  exigencies  of 
sanitary  control  require  that  a certain  latitude 
of  flagrancy  should  be  given  to  the  licensed 
prostitute.^ 

The  pernicious  effect  of  a league  between 
vice  and  legitimate  pleasures  has  been  men- 
tioned above.^  Especially  dangerous  is  vice  in 
public  drinking-places.  Women  are  engaged 
to  persuade  men  to  drink  alcoholic  liquors  to 
excess  ; the  effects  of  alcohol,  in  turn,  lend 
service  to  vice.  To  what  proportions  this  evil 
may  grow,  the  Parisian  brasseries  a femmes 
(drinking-places  with  female  service)  will 
show.  It  will  doubtless  be  impossible  to  keep 
the  saloon  absolutely  free  from  the  presence  of 
prostitution,  and  to  prohibit  absolutely  the  sale 
of  intoxicants  in  brothels.  But  a policy  which 
I should  revoke  the  license  of  a saloonkeeper 
I who  permits  unattended  women  to  frequent  his 
\ premises  in  the  evening  and  night  would  assist 
^ in  driving  vice  from  the  saloon  proper.  A 
supplemental  policy  of  discouraging  the  sale  of 
liquors  in  so-called  hotels  would  be  needed  to 
make  the  plan  effective. 

' Sufra,  87,  note. 


* Supra,  87. 


Moral  Regulation  of  Vice  149 


In  like  manner,  the  dancing  hall  or  music 
hall  which  lends  itself  to  the  purposes  of  vice 
is  a public  nuisance  and  could  be  reached  by 
the  police  whenever  immorality  becomes  fla- 
grantly conspicuous. 

Vice  will  naturally  take  refuge  in  private 
houses  if  denied  the  use  of  public  places.  It 
would  still  require  regulation  to  keep  it  within 
the  bounds  of  decency.  It  is  in  vain  that  it  is 
driven  into  privacy  if  by  conspicuous  lights  or 
signs  or  by  noisy  music  it  is  permitted  to  make 
its  presence  notorious.  An  English  law  of  the 
present  day  makes  it  possible  to  close  a house 
if  it  is  shown  by  the  testimony  of  two  responsi- 
ble citizens  to  be  used  for  immoral  purposes.* 
While  it  is  doubtful  whether  such  a law  would 
have  any  other  effect  than  that  of  breaking  up 
the  house  of  ill  fame  and  compelling  prosti- 
tutes to  resort  to  solicitation  upon  the  street, 
an  analogous  measure  which  should  permit 
aggrieved  neighbors  to  close  a house  which  is 
obtrusively  devoted  to  immorality  would  be  a 
most  efficient  force  in  compelling  such  estab- 
lishments to  conceal  their  true  character. 

We  may  here  consider  whether  moral  ends 

' The  mere  fact  that  men  and  women  resort  to  a house  in  such  a 
way  as  to  give  good  ground  for  suspicion  is  accepted  as  presumptive 
proof. 


The  Social  Evil 


150 


are  best  subserved  by  relegating  vice  to  a 
single  quarter  of  the  city.  It  is  a serious  ques- 
tion whether  the  house  of  ill  fame,  situated  in 
a respectable  locality  and  compelled  to  pre- 
serve an  outward  air  of  decency,  is  as  danger- 
ous to  the  community  at  large  as  a similar 
establishment  surrounded  by  others  of  a like 
character  and  hence  not  under  compulsion  to 
refrain  from  flagrant  devices  for  increasing  its 
patronage.^ 

Preventive  Features. — A second  point  upon 
which  all  parties  will  agree,  is  the  desirability 
of  keeping  growing  children  free  from  contact 
with  professional  vice.  The  child  who  knows 
all  evil  is  almost  destined  to  share  in  it.  No 
child  over  three  years  of  age  should  be  per- 
mitted in  a house  where  prostitution  is  carried 
on.^  In  tenement  and  flat-houses,  parents  of 
children  should  be  able  to  bring  complaint 
against  tenants  of  tenements  or  flats  in  the 
same  building  when  suspicion  is  created  that 
prostitution  is  carried  on  in  such  tenements  ; 
and  if  the  suspicion  is  found  to  be  based  upon 
reasonable  grounds,  the  courts  should  require 


' Supra.  45  et  seq. 

^ In  Continental  cities,  the  inmates  of  brothels  are  not  permitted 
to  keep  even  their  own  children  with  them  after  the  third  or  fourth 
year. 


Moral  Regulation  of  Vice  15 1 

the  landlord  to  evict  the  suspected  parties. 
The  evil  is  one  of  such  gravity  that  it  would 
seem  to  justify  a measure  which  interferes,  to 
a certain  extent,  with  the  principle  of  inviola- 
bility of  domicile. 

Even  where  the  children  of  the  poor  are  not 
in  immediate  contact  with  professional  vice, 
their  surroundings  are  frequently  highly  in- 
imical to  virtue.  Where  a whole  family,  adults 
and  children  of  both  sexes,  is  crowded  together 
in  a single  room,  moral  degradation  is  almost 
inevitable.  What  the  effects  of  such  condi- 
tions may  be,  can  be  judged  from  the  fact  that 
in  European  cities  an  appreciable  proportion 
of  the  prostitutes  who  are  brought  up  in  such 
circumstances  trace  their  fall  to  incestuous  re- 
lations. The  problem  is  one  of  the  most  in- 
tricate with  which  society  has  to  deal,  since  the 
incomes  of  the  poor  and  the  rents  which  they 
have  to  pay  are  almost  entirely  fixed  by  laws 
over  which  Government  has  little  control. 
Nevertheless,  the  question  may  be  raised 
whether  it  is  not  possible,  by  means  of  restric- 
tions upon  the  building  and  letting  of  houses, 
to  discourage  the  formation  of  quarters  that 
inevitably  entail  upon  the  community  a most 
serious  burden  of  vice  and  disease. 


152 


The  Social  Evil 


It  has  often  been  suggested  that  the  present 
system  of  public  education  does  not  exhaust 
its  possibilities  as  a moralizing  force.  Fre- 
quently, the  child  who  leaves  the  public  school 
loses  the  only  influence  that  makes  for  mor- 
ality, and  at  the  time  when  the  need  for  such 
influence  is  greatest.  There  seems  to  be  little 
doubt  that  an  extension  of  the  years  of  public 
education  for  children  whose  parents  or  guard- 
ians cannot  show  that  they  are  engaged  in 
satisfactory  employment  or  properly  cared  for 
in  their  homes,  would  diminish  the  evil  of  pros- 
titution of  young  girls.  The  child  who  is  left 
free  to  pursue  her  own  inclinations,  or  who  is 
employed  by  unscrupulous  parties,  has  always 
been  the  easiest  prey  of  the  professional  se- 
ducer. Such  additional  education  should  natu- 
rally be  of  a kind  that  would  train  the  pupils 
for  industrial  or  household  duties.  It  must  be 
remembered  that  many  girls  become  prosti- 
tutes simply  because  they  are  so  deficient  in 
training  as  to  be  incapable  of  earning  their 
^ living  in  any  other  way. 

All  students  of  the  social  evil  understand 
how  serious  the  problem  of  the  prostitution  of 
minors  has  become.  Whether  sanitary  or 
moral  ends  are  considered  to  be  of  paramount 


Moral  Regulation  of  Vice  153 


importance,  the  prostitution  of  children  cannot 
be  tolerated.  The  supporters  of  reglementa- 
tion  have  for  decades  pleaded  for  the  establish- 
ment of  reformatories  or  asylums  for  the  rescue 
of  young  girls  who  have  fallen  into  evil  ways, 
or  who  are  in  danger  of  falling.  The  Morals 
Service  constantly  has  to  deal  with  children 
who  are  much  too  young  to  be  registered  as 
public  prostitutes,  but  who  nevertheless  gain 
their  living  by  professional  vice.  All  that  the 
judges  can  do  is  to  give  a useless  warning,  and 
to  send  them  back  to  conditions  in  which 
moral  improvement  is  impossible.  In  cities 
where  no  attempt  is  made  to  regulate  vice,  the 
general  public  is  ignorant  of  the  extent  of  this 
evil. 

A Prussian  law  of  July,  1900,^  presents  the 
first  systematic  attempt  to  grapple  with  this 
problem.  By  the  provisions  of  this  law,  girls 
under  eighteen  who  are  found  to  be  living  a 
vicious  life,  or  who  fall  into  evil  company  so 
that  they  are  in  danger  of  being  led  into 
immorality,  may  be  placed  in  institutions  or 
under  the  charge  of  parties  who  will  be  respon- 
sible for  their  conduct.  If  necessary,  they 
may  be  kept  under  guardianship  until  their 

' Das  Fzirsorge-Erziehungs-Gesetz,  July  2,  1900. 


154 


The  Social  Evil 


twenty-first  year.  These  provisions  are  applic- 
able both  to  those  whose  parents  or  guardians 
connive  at  their  downfall,  and  to  those  who 
cannot  be  controlled  by  their  natural  guard- 
ians. This  law  represents  the,  consensus  of 
opinion  of  the  most  profound  students  of  the 
social  evil. 

Sanitary  Features. — A system  of  moral  con- 
trol would  not  abandon  all  of  the  sanitary  fea- 
tures that  are  embodied  in  reglementation. 
Both  systems  alike  demand  that  general  prac- 
titioners should  be  required  to  possess  a high 
degree  of  knowledge  in  the  treatment  of 
venereal  maladies.  Both  systems  agree  that 
the  quack  physician  who  practically  fosters 
disease  for  his  own  ends  should  be  eliminated.^ 
f Treatment  for  venereal  disease  should  be 
\ within  the  reach  of  all.  The  cost  of  adequate 
treatment  for  the  more  serious  forms  of  vene- 
real maladies  is  so  great  that  the  vast  majority 
of  patients  cannot  be  treated  at  all  except  at 
public  hospitals  and  dispensaries.  These 
should,  accordingly,  be  numerous  enough  to 
furnish  gratuitous  treatment  to  all  who  desire 
it.  Patients  should  be  encouraged  to  appear 
for  treatment ; every  care  should  be  taken  to 


' This  has  already  been  accomplished  in  England. 


Moral  Regulation  of  Vice  155 


insure  them  against  exposure,  since  many 
would  rather  endure  their  maladies  in  secret 
than  permit  it  to  be  known  that  they  suffer 
from  a “ shameful  disease.”  If  publicity  can- 
not be  avoided  at  public  dispensaries,  it  would 
be  for  the  general  welfare  to  designate  offi- 
cially private  physicians  in  each  quarter  of  the 
city  who  should  treat  such  patients  free  of 
charge,  receiving  their  compensation  from  the 
public  treasury.^ 

Objection  will  doubtless  be  raised  that 
such  measures  would  minimize  the  deterrent 
effect  that  is  exercised  by  venereal  disease 
upon  those  who  wish  to  indulge  in  vice.  It  is 
a sufficient  answer  that  the  chronic  results  of 
disease  are  frequently  even  more  disastrous  to 

' According  to  Dr.  Prince  A.  Morrow  {The  Prophylaxis  of  Ve?te- 
real  Disease),  the  vast  majority  of  syphilitic  patients  do  not  receive 
adequate  treatment.  “ Not  one  in  twenty,  certainly  not  one  in  ten, 
receives  a treatment  sufficiently  prolonged.”  The  city  of  New  York 
provides  twenty-six  beds  for  the  treatment  of  female  venereal  pa- 
tients. For  male  patients  there  are  fifty-six  beds  in  the  City  Hospi- 
tal and  a small  number  in  the  Metropolitan  Hospital.  It  seems 
almost  incredible  that,  at  the  dispensaries,  women  patients  are  re- 
ceived in  the  same  room  with  men,  so  that  the  fact  that  they  suffer 
from  secret  maladies  becomes  known.  Such  a policy  reminds 
one  of  that  pursued  by  Parisian  hospitals  toward  venereal  patients 
during  the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth  centuries  ; They  were  well 
cudgelled  upon  their  admission  and  upon  their  discharge,  in  order 
that  the  fact  might  be  impressed  upon  them  that  they  suffered  from 
a shameful  disease. 


The  Social  Evil 


156. 

innocent  parties  than  to  the  sufferer  himself. 
Moreover,  the  immediate  consequences  of  dis- 
ease are  sufficiently  grave  to  act  as  a deter- 
rent for  those  who  can  be  deterred  from  vice 
by  fear  of  disease.  It  is  doubtful  whether 
the  distantly  remote  consequences  are  weighed 
at  all. 

Finally,  a system  of  moral  control  cannot 
overlook  the  fact  that  venereal  disease  is  fre- 
quently transmitted  to  innocent  persons.  Most 
frequently,  this  results  from  the  fact  that  men 
who  believe  that  they  are  completely  cured  of 
such  diseases  still  retain  chronic  accidents  by 
which  they  transmit  disease  to  their  innocent 
wives.  It  is  difficult  to  see  how  this  evil  can 
be  remedied  except  by  the  requirement,  as  a 
preliminary  condition  to  the  issuing  of  a mar- 
riage license,  of  a certificate  from  an  official 
physician  showing  the  present  state  of  health 
of  each  of  the  contracting  parties.  Such  a 
requirement  would  work  no  real  hardship  to 
anyone,  since  few  persons  who  suspected  the 
existence  of  a disease  of  this  kind  would  apply 
for  an  official  examination  before  health  had 
been  restored.  It  will  be  admitted  that  many 
difficulties  would  arise  in  the  administration 
of  such  a law,  and  that  it  could  only  diminish 


Moral  Regulation  of  Vice  157 


somewhat  the  evil  which  it  is  designed  to 
meet.  The  evil  in  question  is,  however,  one 
of  so  revolting  a nature  that  any  amelioration 
would  be  worth  a heavy  cost. 

For  the  administration  of  any  system  of 
control  of  vice,  experience  has  demonstrated 
that  a special  body  of  police  agents  is  required. 
If  the  ordinary  police  are  permitted  to  arrest 
suspected  prostitutes,  or  to  raid  houses  of 
prostitution,  the  responsibility  for  the  care  of 
public  morals  is  dissipated  and  unlimited  op- 
portunities for  blackmail  are  created.  The 
system  which  leaves  the  initiative  to  the  pri- 
vate citizen  is  inadequate.  The  citizen  may 
be  trusted  to  do  whatever  lies  in  his  power  to 
prevent  resorts  in  his  immediate  vicinity  from 
becoming  especially  offensive  to  decency.  This 
part  of  the  system  of  control  may  wisely  be 
left  to  him.  But  for  the  discovery  of  prostitu- 
tion of  minors,  for  the  control  of  prostitution 
in  public  places  and  upon  the  street,  a limited 
body  of  agents  selected  for  exceptional  quali- 
ties of  tact  and  integrity  is  absolutely  essential. 
Under  a system  of  reglementation,  the  agents 
are  handicapped  by  the  fact  that  much  of  their 
time  must  be  spent  in  hunting  down  prostitutes 
who  fail  to  appear  for  periodic  examination. 


158 


The  Social  Evil 


Divested  of  this  responsibility,  their  efficiency 
in  preventing  the  worst  forms  of  vice  would 
be  vastly  increased. 

For  the  introduction  of  a system  of  control 
embodying  the  above  features  several  State 
laws  would  be  needed.  But  whereas  regie- 
mentation  would  with  difficulty  find  a place 
under  the  Constitution,  a system  of  moral  con- 
trol would  be  open  to  no  objections  on  the 
score  of  constitutional  law.  What  is  of  greater 
importance,  any  good  that  might  result  from 
reglementation  is  fatally  tainted  with  evil  ; 
whatever  good  might  result  from  moral  con- 
trol is  good  unmixed.  Reglementation  would 
arouse  the  uncompromising  hostility  of  a great 
part  of  the  community  ; intelligent  moral  con- 
trol would  meet  with  the  approval  of  all, 
excepting  of  those  who  are  not  satisfied  with 
a plan  which  would  only  gradually  bring  about 
moral  and  sanitary  improvement,  and  who 
dream  that  there  is  some  royal  road  to  the 
instant  abolition  of  either  moral  or  sanitary 
evil. 


APPENDIX 


THE  “ RAINES  LAW  HOTEL  ” AND  THE  SOCIAL  EVIL 

No  one  who  has  lived  in  New  York  City  can  have 
failed  to  realize  that  there  is  a close  connection  between 
what  is  popularly  known  as  the  “Raines  Law  hotel” 
and  professional  vice.  The  term  is  rapidly  coming  to 
be  synonymous  with  house  of  assignation.  This  does 
not  mean  that  there  are  not  many  so-called  hotels, 
organized  for  the  sole  purpose  of  evading  the  Raines 
Law,  which  have  remained  completely  free  from  prosti- 
tution. Yet  it  can  hardly  be  denied  that  there  are  forces 
at  work  which  tend  to  make  the  decent  Raines  Law  hotel 
the  exception  rather  than  the  rule. 

From  time  out  of  mind  there  have  been  inns  and  hotels 
in  which  no  attempt  has  been  made  to  conform  to  the 
rules  of  morality  of  the  general  community.  The  tran- 
sient has  always  been  of  notoriously  loose  habits,  and  it 
is  only  natural  that  vicious  women  should  congregate 
wherever  he  is  entertained.  Inn-keepers  of  unscrupulous 
character  have  winked  at  disreputable  practices  where 
they  have  not  positively  encouraged  them  and  shared 
the  resulting  profits.  It  is  easy  to  understand  the  tran- 
sition from  such  inns  to  the  house  of  accommodation, 
which  does  not  derive  any  appreciable  part  of  its  returns 
from  legitimate  service,  but  depends  upon  the  patronage 
brought  to  it  by  the  professional  street-walker.  Wherever 


159 


i6o 


The  Social  Evil 


solicitation  upon  the  street  is  permitted,  such  estab- 
lishments will  inevitably  exist;  and  they  will  prosper  or 
decay  with  the  form  of  vice  which  supports  them.  De- 
pending entirely  upon  vice,  their  location  is  necessarily 
limited  to  the  quarters  where  the  volume  of  vice  is  con- 
siderable. Solicitation  upon  the  street  is  in  turn  limited 
to  the  vicinity  of  such  houses,  since  the  street-walker,  in 
order  to  ply  her  vocation  with  profit,  must  have  a place 
in  the  near  vicinity  to  which  she  may  bring  her  customers 
or  victims.  There  is,  accordingly,  a natural  tendency 
for  vice  to  segregate  itself,  to  a certain  extent,  from  the 
general  community,  to  form  notorious  districts  in  the 
various  quarters  of  the  large  city. 

New  York,  however,  presents  the  unique  feature  of 
providing  virtual  houses  of  accommodation  throughout 
the  city,  quite  without  regard  for  the  actual  demand  for 
them.  As  a consequence,  all  difficulties  that  normally 
lie  in  the  way  of  soliciting  in  other  than  notorious  parts 
of  the  city  are  removed.  The  street-walker  may  make 
any  place  she  chooses  the  scene  of  her  operations.  As 
a result,  solicitation  is  probably  more  general  in  New 
York  than  in  any  other  American  city. 

This  abnormal  and  pernicious  state  of  affairs  is  easily 
explained  by  reference  to  the  local  excise  laws.  By 
section  31  of  the  Raines  Law  the  hotel  is  given  a highly 
favored  position  in  the  sale  of  alcoholic  liquors,  since  it 
alone  is  permitted  to  sell  such  liquors  on  Sunday.  It  is 
a trite  statement  that  the  profits  of  a New  York  saloon 
are  made  on  Sunday,  the  week-day  trade  merely  sufficing 
to  pay  expenses.  While  this  may  be  an  exaggeration, 
the  Sunday  trade  is  certainly  important,  since  the  reten- 
tion of  regular  custom  frequently  depends  upon  it.  It 
was  therefore  inevitable  that  a great  number  of  saloons 


Appendix 


i6i 


should  attempt  to  annex  a sufficient  number  of  rooms  to 
pass  under  the  definition  of  hotels. 

For  respectable  purposes,  however,  the  demand  for 
rooms  connected  with  saloons  is  necessarily  very  limited. 
And  so  the  tenant  of  a “ hotel  ” of  this  class  has  had  the 
choice  between  paying  rent  for  vacant  space  or  permit- 
ting the  use  of  his  rooms  for  dishonorable  purposes.  Of 
course  there  are  many  men  in  the  liquor  business  who 
have  preferred  a pecuniary  loss  to  a shameful  gain.  But 
it  is  easy  to  see  why,  in  a class  of  men  who  are  held  more 
or  less  in  disrepute  and  who  are  repeatedly  charged  with 
making  a gain  out  of  other  men’s  degradation,  many  will 
be  found  who  will  not  stick  at  profits,  however  stained. 
It  may  be  truthfully  said  that,  under  the  most  favorable 
circumstances,  the  more  scrupulous  among  the  dealers 
in  alcoholic  beverages  are  at  a disadvantage.  Under  the 
Raines  Law,  as  it  has  been  applied,  there  is  an  active 
influence  which  favors  those  who  do  not  hesitate  to  make 
themselves  the  abettors  of  vice. 

Anyone  who  is  familiar  with  conditions  in  New  York 
must  admit  that  the  effect  of  the  Raines  Law  has  been 
to  provide  unexampled  accommodations  for  prostitution. 
The  only  questions  that  are  open  to  discussion  are 
whether  the  volume  of  vice  is  greater  than  it  would  be 
if  the  Raines  Law  hotel  did  not  exist,  and  whether  vice 
as  it  manifests  itself  in  such  institutions  is  more  danger- 
ous to  public  order  and  public  health  than  it  would  be 
under  normal  conditions. 

The  patronage  of  vice  may  be  divided  into  two  parts: 
that  which  is  given  without  the  employment  of  any 
allurements  on  the  part  of  those  who  provide  vicious 
pleasures,  and  that  which  is  procured  by  such  allure- 
ments. It  is  manifest  that  nothing  can  be  done  to  limit 


i62 


The  Social  Evil 


the  patronage  of  the  first  class.  It  is  by  the  influence 
upon  the  second  class  that  the  evil  imputable  to  any  in- 
stitution must  be  estimated. 

Nothing  can  be  clearer  than  the  fact  that  the  possi- 
bility, due  to  the  Raines  Law  hotels,  of  soliciting  now  in 
one  part  of  the  city,  now  in  another,  increases  immensely 
the  number  of  persons  whom  the  prostitute  can  subject 
to  her  allurements.  Moreover,  so  long  as  solicitation  is 
confined  to  comparatively  limited  areas,  it  is  possible  for 
police  agents  to  restrain,  to  a certain  extent,  the  conduct 
of  vicious  women.  When  solicitation  may  occur  in  any 
part  of  the  city,  the  task  is  made  immeasurably  greater. 
Accordingly,  the  power  for  evil  of  the  prostitute  is  in- 
creased not  only  by  the  possibility  given  her  of  meeting 
greater  numbers  of  men,  but  also  by  the  greater  freedom 
with  which  indecent  proposals  may  be  made. 

More  serious  still,  many  of  the  Raines  Law  hotels  are 
themselves  the  scene  of  most  insidious  and  therefore 
most  effective  solicitation.  The  average  citizen  goes 
there  to  drink  his  glass  of  beer  and  to  listen  to  the  bad 
music  and  worse  jokes  that  play  so  important  a part  in 
summer  entertainment.  When  there,  he  becomes  sub- 
ject to  solicitation  which  has  the  appearance  of  a mere 
flirtation;  if  he  yields,  it  is  with  the  least  possible  shock 
to  his  moral  sensibilities;  he  may  feel  that  he  did  not 
seek  vice,  but  was  overcome  by  circumstances.  The 
convenient  arrangement  of  rooms  makes  exposure  un- 
likely. Persons  who  would  hesitate  to  enter  a brothel 
or  notorious  rendezvous  are  easily  “ victimized  ” in  the 
Raines  Law  hotel  with  summer  garden  or  roof  garden  or 
other  facilities  for  public  entertainment.  The  uncom- 
promising moralist  will  probably  say  that  it  is  a matter 
of  small  importance  what  befalls  such  moral  imbeciles. 


Appendix 


163 


He  might,  however,  change  his  opinion  if  he  knew  how 
many  of  them  there  are. 

Most  serious  of  all,  however,  is  the  fact  that  the  Raines 
Law  hotel  which  stands  on  the  line  between  vice  and 
harmlessness  is  very  frequently  the  place  where  the 
growing  boy  is  introduced  to  the  mysteries  of  immoral- 
ity. Where  popular  entertainment  is  given,  it  is  inevi- 
table that  a certain  number  of  immoral  persons  will  be 
found;  and  if  accommodations  for  vice  are  present,  the 
work  of  recruiting  the  patronage  of  vice  among  boys 
will  certainly  be  active. 

The  effect  of  such  institutions  as  the  Raines  Law 
hotel  in  increasing  the  number  of  those  who  earn  their 
living  by  immorality  is  no  less  obvious.  Without  them, 
the  clandestine  prostitute  would  necessarily  take  her 
patrons  to  brothels,  houses  of  assignation,  or  to  her  own 
apartments.  In  any  case,  the  risk  of  discovery  would  be 
greater  than  at  present.  Many  who  are  just  starting 
upon  the  downward  path  would  shrink  from  entering 
notorious  haunts  of  vice.  For  such,  the  Raines  Law 
hotel  is  naturally  convenient.  Just  as  the  establish- 
ments which  furnish  free  entertainment  assist  in  the 
downfall  of  the  young  man,  so  they  familiarize  the 
young  girl  with  the  presence  of  disreputable  characters 
and  permit  her  to  admire  their  stylish  dress  and  flashy 
jewelry. 

The  most  damning  charge  of  all,  however,  is  that  the 
Raines  Law  hotel  provides  the  greatest  known  facilities 
for  seduction.  Young  girls,  brought  by  unscrupulous 
escorts  to  enjoy  the  entertainment  given,  are  regaled  on 
beverages  of  the  influence  of  which  they  are  ignorant, 
and,  by  the  aid  and  assistance  of  the  hotel  provision, 
fall  easy  victims.  That  this  is  no  imaginary  evil,  nor 


164 


The  Social  Evil 


one  which  is  rare,  is  known  to  anyone  in  New  York  who 
has  eyes  to  see  and  ears  to  hear. 

From  the  point  of  view  of  public  order,  the  Raines 
Law  hotel  is  unquestionably  pernicious.  It  is  impossible 
to  form  any  idea  of  the  number  of  thefts  and  robberies 
committed  by  prostitutes  and  their  male  retainers,  since 
the  victims  do  not  usually  make  complaint.  It  is  known, 
however,  that  such  crimes  are  constantly  taking  place. 
They  are  naturally  comparatively  infrequent  in  the 
brothel  and  in  the  apartments  of  the  isolated  prostitute: 
in  the  former,  because  the  proprietor  of  the  establish- 
ment does  not  care  to  have  the  reputation  for  violence; 
in  the  latter,  because  the  isolated  prostitute  does  not  wish 
her  real  character  to  be  known  to  her  neighbors.  Even 
the  house  of  accommodation  is  generally  anxious  to  have 
a reputation  for  safety.  But  the  criminal  prostitute  can 
take  one  client  after  another  to  a Raines  Law  hotel  and 
plunder  him  with  the  aid  of  her  male  retainer;  and  if 
one  were  to  make  complaint,  it  is  a simple  matter  for 
the  woman  to  choose  another  quarter  for  her  crimes. 

In  like  manner,  the  brothel  and  the  isolated  prostitute 
with  fixed  station  are  anxious  to  avoid  the  reputation  for 
disease.  To  the  one  who  uses  a score  of  Raines  Law 
hotels  indifferently,  it  makes  no  difference  how  many 
persons  she  contaminates.  Accordingly,  there  seems  to 
be  good  reason  for  the  opinion,  prevalent  among  New 
York  physicians,  that  the  Raines  Law  hotels  are  the 
chief  factor  in  the  spread  of  venereal  disease. 

It  has  been  said  that  the  evils  above  enumerated  are 
due  not  to  the  Raines  Law,  but  to  the  manner  in  which 
it  is  enforced.  Probably  not  ten  per  cent,  of  the 
“fake”  hotels  comply  with  the  regulations  of  the  fire, 
health  and  building  departments.  Accordingly,  ninety 


Appendix 


165 

per  cent,  could  be  wiped  out  of  existence  by  simply  en- 
forcing the  law.  But  would  that  end  the  matter  ? 
Hardly.  Instead  of  going  out  of  existence,  the  owners 
of  such  establishments  would  be  slightly  more  careful  as 
to  the  fulfilment  of  the  requirements  of  those  departments. 
At  a somewhat  greater  expense,  they  would  still  be  “ ho- 
tels,” and  would  still  furnish  accommodations  for  vice. 

It  is  true  that  among  the  provisions  of  the  law,  the 
proprietor  or  tenant  is  required  to  prevent  the  premises 
from  becoming  “disorderly.”  If  this  provision  were 
rigidly  enforced,  some  of  the  evils  could  no  doubt  be 
reached.  But  when  a hundred  provisions  of  a law  may 
be  violated  with  impunity,  there  is  little  chance  of  en- 
forcing any  one. 

Moreover,  those  who  are  best  acquainted  with  New 
York  City  are  agreed  that  there  is  no  chance  that  the  law 
will  ever  be  enforced.  The  popular  detestation  of  it 
precludes  all  possibility  of  enforcement. 

So  far  as  the  problem  of  prostitution  is  concerned,  the 
essential  thing  is  to  put  an  end  to  the  abnormal  tendency 
to  make  hotels  out  of  saloons.  And  this  can  be  done 
only  by  relieving  the  saloon  proper  of  the  disadvantages 
under  which  it  now  labors,  or  of  imposing  an  additional 
burden  upon  the  hotel.  The  latter  policy  would  fall 
under  the  same  popular  detestation  with  the  Raines  Law 
itself,  and  so  would  seem  to  be  out  of  the  question. 
Accordingly,  the  only  alternative  which  appears  to  be 
open  is  the  removal  of  the  restriction  upon  the  selling  of 
alcoholic  beverages  on  Sunday.  It  is  not  claimed  that 
even  such  a measure  would  remove  all  the  evils  that  the 
Raines  Law,  as  it  has  been  applied,  has  created.  It 
would,  however,  prevent  the  further  growth  of  the  evil 
and  would  assist  in  making  possible  an  effective  moral 
control  of  vice. 


The  Social  Evil 


1 66 


Note. — Provisions  of  Raines  Law  discriminating  be- 
tween the  hotel  and  other  establishments  for  retailing  liquor 
to  be  drunk  on  the  premises.  Definition  of  “ Hotel  ” and 
“ Guest.”  Raines  Law.,  § 31  : 

“ It  shall  not  be  lawful  for  any  corporation,  associa- 
tion, copartnership  or  person,  whether  having  paid  such 
tax  or  not,  to  sell,  offer  or  expose  for  sale,  or  give  away, 
any  liquor  : 

“ a.  On  Sunday  ; or  before  five  o’clock  in  the  morning 
on  Monday  ; or 

“b.  On  any  other  day  between  one  o’clock  and  five 
o’clock  in  the  morning  ; or 

“ c.  On  the  day  of  a general  or  special  election,  or 
city  election  or  town  meeting,  or  village  election,  within 
one-quarter  of  a mile  of  any  voting  place,  while  the  polls 
for  such  election  or  town  meeting  shall  be  open  ; or 

“ d.  Within  two  hundred  yards  of  the  grounds  or 
premises  upon  which  any  state,  county,  town  or  other 
agricultural  or  horticultural  fair  is  being  held,  unless 
such  grounds  or  premises  are  within  the  limits  of  a city 
containing  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  inhabitants 
or  more  ; . . . 

“ Clauses  ‘a,’  ‘ c ’ and  ‘ d ’ of  this  section  are  subject 
to  the  following  exception  : 

“ The  holder  of  a liquor  tax  certificate  under  subdi- 
vision one  of  section  eleven  of  this  act  who  is  the  keeper 
of  a hotel,  may  sell  liquor  to  the  guests  of  such  hotel, 
. , . with  their  meals, or  in  their  rooms  therein,  except 

between  the  hours  of  one  o’clock  and  five  o’clock  in  the 
morning,  but  not  in  the  barroom  or  other  similar  room 
of  such  hotel  ; and  the  term  ‘ hotel  ’ as  used  in  this  act 
shall  mean  a building  regularly  used  and  kept  open  as 


Appendix 


167 


such  for  the  feeding  and  lodging  of  guests,  where  all  who 
conduct  themselves  properly  and  who  are  able  and  ready 
to  pay  for  their  entertainment,  are  received  if  there  be 
accommodations  for  them,  and  who,  without  any  stipu- 
lated engagement  as  to  the  duration  of  their  stay,  or  as 
to  the  rate  of  compensation,  are,  while  there,  supplied, 
at  a reasonable  charge,  with  their  meals,  lodgings,  re- 
freshment and  such  service  and  attention  as  are  neces- 
sarily incident  to  the  use  of  the  place  as  a temporary 
home,  and  in  which  the  only  other  dwellers  shall  be  the 
family  and  servants  of  the  hotel  keeper  ; and  which 
shall  conform  to  the  following  requirements,  if  situate  in 
a city,  incorporated  village  of  twelve  hundred  or  more 
inhabitants,  or  within  two  miles  of  the  corporate  limits 
of  either : 

“ I.  The  laws,  ordinances,  rules  and  regulations  relating 
to  hotels  and  hotel  keepers,  including  all  laws,  ordi- 
nances, rules  and  regulations  of  the  state  or  locality 
pertaining  to  the  building,  fire  and  health  department 
in  relation  to  hotels  and  hotel  keepers,  shall  be  fully 
complied  with. 

“ 2.  Such  buildings  shall  contain  at  least  ten  bedrooms 
above  the  basement,  exclusive  of  those  occupied  by  the 
family  and  servants,  each  room  properly  furnished  to 
accommodate  lodgers,  and  separated  by  partitions  at 
least  three  inches  thick,  extending  from  floor  to  ceiling, 
with  independent  access  to  each  room  by  a door  opening 
into  a hallway,  each  room  having  a window  or  windows 
with  not  less  than  eight  square  feet  of  surface  opening 
upon  a street  or  open  court,  light-shaft  or  open  air,  and 
each  having  at  least  eighty  square  feet  of  floor  area,  and 
at  least  six  hundred  cubic  feet  of  space  therein  ; a 
dining-room  with  at  least  three  hundred  square  feet  of 


The  Social  Evil 


1 68 

floor  area,  which  shall  not  be  a part  of  the  barroom, 
with  tables,  and  having  suitable  table  furniture  and  ac- 
commodations for  at  least  twenty  guests  therein  at  one 
and  the  same  time,  and  a kitchen  and  conveniences  for 
cooking  therein  sufficient  to  provide  bona  fide  meals  at 
one  and  the  same  time  for  twenty  guests.  . . . 

“ A guest  of  a hotel,  within  the  meaning  of  this  excep- 
tion to  section  thirty-one  of  this  act,  is  : 

“ I.  A person  who  in  good  faith  occupies  a room  in  a 
hotel  as  a temporary  home,  and  pays  the  regular  cus- 
tomary charges  for  such  occupancy,  but  who  does  not 
occupy  such  room  for  the  purpose  of  having  liquor 
served  therein  ; or 

“ 2.  A person  who,  during  the  hours  when  meals  are 
regularly  served  therein,  resorts  to  the  hotel  for  the  pur- 
pose of  obtaining  and  actually  orders  and  obtains  at 
such  time,  in  good  faith,  a meal  therein.” 


PART  II. 


RECOMMENDATIONS  OF  THE  COM- 
MITTEE 


A CAREFUL  consideration  of  the  foregoing 
report  points  unmistakably  to  the  conclusion 
that  the  so-called  system  of  regulation  is  not 
a radical  or  adequate  remedy  for  the  evils  con- 
nected with  prostitution,  even  in  their  merely 
physical  aspect.  For  the  members  of  this 
Committee,  indeed,  the  moral  grounds  alone 
would  have  sufficed  to  stamp  as  intolerable 
the  proposition  that  the  public  authorities 
should  undertake  the  inspection  of  houses  of 
ill-fame  with  a view  to  rendering  the  practice 
of  vice  innocuous  to  those  who  engage  in  it. 
We  recommend  to  those  persons  who  are 
wont  to  extol  this  system  as  a kind  of  panacea 
and  to  deplore,  with  something  of  impatience 
if  not  of  contempt,  the  Puritanical  sentiment 
which  prevails  in  this  country,  and  which  ren- 
ders any  attempt  to  introduce  such  a system 
impracticable,  an  attentive  study  of  the  pas- 
sages in  the  above  report  relating  to  regu- 
lation and  its  results.  They  will  find,  on  a 


172 


The  Social  Evil 


closer  study  of  the  results,  as  these  appear 
where  the  system  has  been  tried,  that  their 
vaunted  panacea  is  no  panacea  at  all,  and  that 
their  confidence  in  its  merits  is  far  from  being 
supported  by  the  facts. 

But,  if  not  regulation,  what  then  ? The 
city  of  New  York  is  rapidly  expanding  into 
metropolitan  proportions.  Within  another  ten 
years  its  aspect  will,  in  many  ways,  be  trans- 
formed. It  is  certain  to  become  a more  com- 
modious and  beautiful  city  than  it  has  ever 
been  before.  But  what  will  this  material  splen- 
dor avail  if  the  forces  that  tend  to  debase  the 
moral  life  of  its  people — and  especially  of  its 
youth — are  permitted  to  operate  unchecked  ? 
The  Social  Evil  is  assuming  alarming  dimen- 
sions. What  is  needed  at  this  time  is  a definite 
policy  with  regard  to  it ; a policy  that  shall  not 
attempt  the  impossible,  that  shall  not  be  based 
on  the  delusive  hope  of  radically  altering  in  a 
single  generation  the  evil  propensities  of  the 
human  heart,  or  of  repressing  vice  by  mere  re- 
strictive legislation,  but  which,  none  the  less, 
shall  ever  recognize  as  an  ultimate  end  the 
moral  redemption  of  the  human  race  from  this 
degrading  evil,  and  which  shall  initiate  no 
measure  and  advise  no  step  not  conducive  to 


Recommendations  of  the  Committee  173 


that  end  ; a policy  that  shall  be  practical  with 
respect  to  the  immediate  future,  and  shall  at 
the  same  time  be  in  harmony  with  the  ideals 
which  are  cherished  by  the  best  men  and 
women  in  this  community. 

As  an  outline  of  such  a policy,  we  submit 
the  following ; 

First,  strenuous  efforts  to  prevent  in  the 
tenement  houses  the  overcrowding  which  is 
the  prolific  source  of  sexual  immorality.  The 
attempts  to  provide  better  housing  for  the 
poor,  praiseworthy  and  deserving  of  recog- 
nition as  they  are,  have  as  yet  produced  but  a 
feeble  impression  upon  existing  conditions, 
and  are  but  the  bare  beginnings  of  a work 
which  should  be  enlarged  and  continued  with 
unflagging  vigor  and  devotion.  If  we  wish  to 
abate  the  Social  Evil,  we  must  attack  it  at  its 
sources. 

Secondly,  the  furnishing,  by  public  pro- 
vision or  private  munificence,  of  purer  and 
more  elevating  forms  of  amusement  to  sup- 
plant the  attractions  of  the  low  dance-halls, 
theatres,  and  other  similar  places  of  entertain- 
ment that  only  serve  to  stimulate  sensuality 
and  to  debase  the  taste.  The  pleasures  of  the 
people  need  to  be  looked  after  far  more  earn- 


174 


The  Social  Evil 


estly  than  has  been  the  case  hitherto.  If  we 
would  banish  the  kind  of  amusements  that  de- 
grade, we  must  offer  to  the  public  in  this  large 
cosmopolitan  city,  where  the  appetite  for  pleas- 
ure is  keen,  some  sort  of  suitable  alternatives. 
^ Thirdly,  whatever  can  be  done  to  improve  the 
material  conditions  of  the  wage-earning  class, 
and  especially  of  young  wage-earning  women, 
will  be  directly  in  line  with  the  purpose  which 
is  here  kept  in  view.  It  is  a sad  and  humili- 
ating admission  to  make,  at  the  opening  of  the 
twentieth  century,  in  one  of  the  greatest  cen- 
tres of  civilization  in  the  world,  that,  in  nu- 
merous instances,  it  is  not  passion  or  corrupt 
inclination,  but  the  force  of  actual  physical 
want,  that  impels  young  women  along  the  road 
to  ruin. 

The  three  suggestions  mentioned  above  in- 
dicate permanent  causes  to  which  the  increase 
of  the  Social  Evil  may  be  traced.  A better 
/ system  of  moral  education  may  also  be  men- 
tioned as  an  imperative  necessity  in  this  con- 
nection. As  Dr.  Prince  A.  Morrow,  in  a paper 
on  “The  Prophylaxis  of  Venereal  Diseases,” 
says : 


“ This  campaign  of  education  should  be  extended  to 
the  high  schools  and  colleges  for  young  men.  Unfor- 


Recommendations  of  the  Committee  175 


tunately,  this  has  always  been  a forbidden  topic.  There 
is  no  reason  why  young  men  should  not  be  forewarned 
of  the  pitfalls  and  dangers  which  beset  their  pathway. 
Whatever  may  be  thought  of  the  innocuity  of  ‘ sowing 
wild  oats,’  its  consequences  are  most  often  disastrous 
to  the  health  of  the  individual.  They  should  also  be 
taught  that  self-restraint,  personal  purity,  and  respect 
for  women  are  among  the  surest  foundations  of  char- 
acter.” 

But  to  come  to  the  points  that  more  directly 
bear  upon  the  problem  as  it  presents  itself  in 
the  city  of  New  York. 

From  a recent  report  of  a committee  of  the 
County  Medical  Association,  it  appears  that 
the  great  city  of  New  York  provides  for  the 
reception  and  treatment  of  women  suffering 
from  venereal  diseases  only  twenty-six  beds 
in  the  City  Hospital  on  Blackwell’s  Island. 
We  recommend  the  adequate  increase  of 
hospital  accommodations  for  this  class  of 
patients.  This  recommendation  is  based  on 
grounds  of  public  health  as  well  as  of  human- 
ity to  the  sufferers.  The  public  health  is  en- 
dangered, in  so  far  as  contagion  is  allowed  to 
spread  uncontrolled,  and  surely  the  sufferers 
themselves  are  entitled  to  the  mercy  of  their 
fellow-beings.  To  justify  the  exclusion  of  such 
patients  from  the  hospitals,  and  in  answer  to 


176 


The  Social  Evil 


the  question,  What  then  shall  become  of 
them  ? it  has  been  said  : “ Let  them  rot  in  their 
own  vices.”  But  this  is  a hard  saying,  all  the 
more  when  it  is  remembered  that  not  a few  of 
the  sufferers  are  but  the  victims  of  the  sins  of 
others,  bearing  in  their  shattered  constitutions 
and  in  the  loathsome  disease  inflicted  upon 
them  the  penalty  of  suffering  and  humiliation 
which  they  themselves  have  done  nothing  to 
deserve. 

The  Committee  further  recommend  that 
minors  who  are  notoriously  debauched  shall 
)e  coercively  confined  in  asylums  or  reforma- 
tories. The  minors  who  are  engaged  in  pros- 
titution constitute  at  once  the  most  dangerous 
and  the  most  pitiable  element  in  the  problem 
of  the  Social  Evil.  They  are  the  most  active 
sources  of  contagion  in  every  sense.  In  their 
case  the  prospect  is,  at  the  same  time,  most 
hopeful  of  waging  effective  warfare  on  the 
Social  Evil,  since  they  are  young  enough,  if 
brought  under  the  right  influence,  to  be  res- 
cued from  the  army  of  the  vicious  and  restored 
to  honest  callings. 

^ But,  above  all,  the  Committee  recommend 
change  in  the  attitude  of  the  law.  As  it 
' stands  at  present,  the  law  regards  prostitu- 


Recommendations  of  the  Committee  177 

tion  as  a crime.  If  we  are  ever  to  escape  from 
the  present  impossible  conditions,  it  seems  im- 
perative to  draw  the  distinction  sharply  between 
sin  and  crime.  The  proposition  is  to  exclude 
prostitution  from  the  category  of  crime.  We 
hasten  to  add  that  this  proposition  should  by 
no  means  be  understood  as  a plea  in  favor  of 
laxer  moral  judgments.  A sin  is  not  less 
odious  because  it  is  not  treated  as  a crime. 
Sins  may  even  be  incomparably  more  heinous 
than  offences  which  the  law  visits  with  pun- 
ishment. Nevertheless,  some  of  the  most 
grievous  sins  are  not  subjected  to  legal  penal- 
ties, simply  because  it  is  recognized  that  such 
penalties  cannot  be  enforced,  and  a law  on-,  the 
statute  book  that  cannot  be  enforced  is  a 
whip  in  the  hands  of  the  blackmailer.  Cor- 
ruption in  the  police  force  can  never  be  extir- 
pated until  this  prolific  source  of  it  is  stopped. 

But  it  may  be  asked : What,  then,  is  to  be  the 
status  of  prostitution  in  the  city  of  New  York? 
In  the  first  place,  it  must  be  driven  out  of  tene- 
ment and  apartment  houses  ; the  evil  must  be 
rigidly  excluded  from  the  homes  of  the  poor. 
Secondly,  it  must  not  be  segregated  in 
separate  quarters  of  the  city,  for  the  reason 
that  such  quarters  tend  to  become  nests  of 


178 


The  Social  Evil 


crime  and  veritable  plague  spots,  and  for  the 
further  reason  that  segregation  does  not  segre- 
gate, just  as  it  has  been  shown  that  regula- 
tion does  not  regulate.  JThirdl^,  all  public, 
obtrusive  manifestations  of  prostitution  shall 
be  sternly  repressed.  Not  prostitution  itself, 
when  withdrawn  from  the  public  eye  so  as  to 
be  noticeable  only  to  those  who  deliberately 
go  in  search  of  it,  shall  be  punishable ; but  all 
such  manifestations  of  it  as  belong  under  the 
head  of  public  nuisance.  The  result  of  the 
adoption  of  this  policy  will  be,  indeed,  the 
continued  existence  of  houses  of  ill-fame,  partly 
in  streets  formerly  residential  and  deserted  by 
the  better  class  of  occupants,  partly  scattered 
in  the  neighborhood  of  the  great  thorough- 
fares and  elsewhere,  and  these  will  remain  un- 
disturbed under  the  condition  that  they  remain 
unobtrusive.  The  serious  and  weighty  objec- 
tions that  lie  against  the  existence  of  such 
houses  are  well  known.  But  they  are  in  every 
case  objections  which  really  apply  to  the  ex- 
istence of  prostitution  itself.  They  could  only 
be  removed  if  prostitution  itself  could  sum- 
marily be  extirpated.  But  this,  in  the  present 
state  of  the  moral  evolution  of  the  race,  is  as 
yet  impossible.  Recognizing,  then,  that  pros- 


Recommendations  of  the  Committee  179 

titution,  although  it  ought  not  to  exist,  does 
and  will  for  an  indefinable  time  continue  to 
exist  among  us,  we  are  bound,  as  men  ad- 
vising for  the  moral  welfare  of  our  great  city 
in  the  immediate  future,  to  point  out  that 
form  of  the  evil  which,  all  things  considered, 
will  work  the  least  harm. 

The  better  housing  for  the  poor,  purer 
forms  of  amusement,  the  raising  of  the  condi- 
tion of  labor,  especially  of  female  labor,  better 
moral  education,  minors  more  and  more  with- 
drawn from  the  clutches  of  vice  by  means  of 
reformatories,  the  spread  of  contagion  checked 
by  more  adequate  hospital  accommodations, 
the  evil  itself  unceasingly  condemned  by  public 
opinion  as  a sin  against  morality,  and  punished 
as  a crime  with  stringent  penalties  whenever 
it  takes  the  form  of  a public  nuisance  : — these 
are  the  methods  of  dealing  with  it  upon  which 
the  members  of  the  Committee  have  united 
and  from  which  they  hope  for  the  abatement 
of  some  of  the  worst  of  its  consequences  at 
present,  and  for  the  slow  and  gradual  restric- 
tion of  its  scope  in  the  future. 

In  addition,  we  would  recommend  the  crea- 
tion of  a special  body  of  morals  police,  analo- 
gous to  the  sanitary  police  already  existing. 


i8o 


The  Social  Evil 


selected  on  grounds  of  exceptional  judg- 
ment and  fitness,  to  whom  and  to  whom  alone 
should  be  entrusted  the  duties  of  surveillance 
and  repression  contemplated  in  the  above 
recommendations. 


APPENDIX 


PRESENT  CONDITIONS  IN  NEW  YORK 

Trading  in  vice  has  had  a rapid  develop- 
ment in  New  York  City  within  the  last  few 
years.  A combination  of  circumstances  has 
made  this  possible.  Through  the  Raines  Law, 
the  entrance  upon  a life  of  prostitution  be- 
came attractive  and  easy.  The  appearance  of 
the  “cadet”  formed  the  connecting  link  be- 
tween the  Raines  Law  hotel  and  the  house  of 
prostitution.  The  partnership  between  some 
of  the  officials  of  the  Police  Department  and 
the  traffickers  of  prostitution  resulted  in  a sys- 
tem of  reciprocity.  Immunity  from  arrest  was 
exchanged  for  profits  from  the  trade  in  vice. 
When  a house  containing  not  more  than  ten 
inmates,  exclusive  of  the  proprietress,  and 
known  as  a “ fifty-cent  house,”  could  afford  to 
pay  an  initiation  fee  of  $500.  to  the  wardman, 
and  $50.  a month  for  the  privilege  of  continu- 
ing in  this  illegal  occupation  unmolested,  an 

i8r 


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The  Social  Evil 


estimate  can  be  formed  as  to  the  amount  of 
trade  which  must  be  carried  on  within. 

In  one  police  precinct,  not  more  than  a mile 
square,  there  were  known  to  be  in  1900  about 
forty  such  houses.  In  the  same  precinct  there 
were  some  sixty  well-known  centres  of  prosti- 
tution in  tenement  houses.  The  employees  of 
these  houses  openly  cried  their  wares  upon  the 
streets,  and  children  of  the  neighborhood  were 
given  pennies  and  candy  to  distribute  the  cards 
of  the  prostitutes.  A system  of  “ watch  boys  ” 
or  “light-houses”  was  also  adopted,  by  which 
the  news  of  any  impending  danger  could  be 
carried  throughout  a precinct  in  a very  few 
minutes.  Honest  police  officers  who  attempted 
to  perform  their  duties  were  defied  by  the 
“cadets”  and  “light-houses.”  For  a police 
officer  to  incur  the  enmity  of  a powerful 
“ madame  ” meant  the  transfer  of  that  officer 
“ for  the  good  of  the  service,”  if  not  to  another 
precinct,  at  least  to  an  undesirable  post  in  the 
same  precinct.  A virtual  reign  of  terror  ex- 
isted among  the  honest  patrolmen  and  the 
ignorant  citizens  of  these  districts.  Many 
times,  citizens  from  such  quarters  have  said 
that  they  would  gladly  tell  what  they  could  not 
help  but  see,  were  it  not  that  they  feared  bodily 


Appendix 


183 

harm  and  the  destruction  of  their  means  of 
livelihood  if  they  spoke.  Little  by  little  the 
facts  were  placed  on  record  in  the  trials  of 
police  officers  and  “ cadets.” 

The  Cadet  and  His  Victim.  — The  “ cadet  ” 
is  a young  man,  averaging  from  eighteen  to 
twenty-five  years  of  age,  who,  after  having 
served  a short  apprenticeship  as  a “ light- 
house,” secures  a staff  of  girls  and  lives 
upon  their  earnings.  He  dresses  better  than 
the  ordinary  neighborhood  boy,  wears  an 
abundance  of  cheap  jewelry,  and  has  usually 
cultivated  a limited  amount  of  gentlemanly 
demeanor.  His  occ^ation  is  professional 
seduction.  By  occasional  visits  he  succeeds  in 
securing  the  friendship  of  some  attractive  shop- 
girl. By  apparently  kind  and  generous  treat- 
ment, and  by  giving  the  young  girl  glimpses 
of  a standard  of  living  which  she  had  never 
dared  hope  to  attain,  this  friendship  rapidly 
ripens  into  infatuation.  The  Raines  Law 
hotel  or  the  “ furnished-room  hous^"^ith  its 
cafe  on  the  ground  floor,  is  soon  visited  for 
refreshments.  After  a drugged  drink,  the  girl 
wakens  and  finds  herself  at  the  mercy  of  her 
supposed  friend.  Through  fear  and  promises 
of  marriage  she  casts  her  fortunes  with  her 


184 


The  Social  Evil 


companion,  and  goes  to  live  with  him.  The 
companion  disappears  ; and  the  shop-girl  finds 
herself  an  inmate  of  a house  of  prostitution. 
She  is  forced  to  receive  visitors  of  the  house. 
For  each  visitor  the  girl  receives  a brass  or 
pasteboard  check  from  the  cashier  of  the  house 
entitling  her  to  twenty-five  cents.  The  “ cadet  ” 
returns  to  the  house  at  frequent  intervals, 
takes  the  checks  from  his  victim,  and  cashes 
them  at  the  cashier’s  desk. 

Within  the  last  year,  six  “ cadets  ” have  been 
sent  to  State  prison  for  abducting  girls  under 
the  age  of  eighteen  years.  The  facts  were 
substantially  similar  in  all  the  cases,  and  in  a 
majority  of  them  the  victims  were  physical 
wrecks  when  rescued. 

The  victim  of  the  “ cadet  ” is  usually  a young 
girl  of  foreign  birth  who  knows  little  or  nothing 
of  the  conditions  of  American  life.  She  has 
just  reached  womanhood,  and  is  taught  by  her 
parents  that  the  time  has  come  for  her  to  look 
forward  to  marriage.  Very  often,  the  parents 
themselves  are  highly  flattered  by  the  atten- 
tions which  are  being  paid  to  their  daughter 
by  such  a prosperous-appearing  young  man. 
The  conditions  are  all  favorable  for  the  ac- 
complishment of  the  purpose  for  which  the 


Appendix 


185 


cadet  ” began  his  attentions.  The  early  teach- 
ings of  the  young  girl  are  propitious  for  the 
consummation  of  her  destruction.  She  is 
taught  that  obedience  should  be  unquestioned, 
and  that  the  word  of  the  husband  in  the  house- 
hold is  law.  The  “ cadet  ” relentlessly  uses 
these  weapons  which  have  been  placed  in  his 
hands,  and  he  soon  finds  himself  in  possession 
of  this  money-maker  whose  receipts  will  yield 
him  ordinarily  forty  or  fifty  dollars  a week.  If 
the  young  girl  succeeds  in  escaping  from  the 
house  of  prostitution,  she  prefers,  in  a majority 
of  cases,  to  become  a street-walker  rather  than 
to  return  home  and  to  face  the  disgrace  which 
awaits  her  there. 

Conditions  in  Tenement  Houses. — The  reve- 
nue-producing power  of  the  sale  of  immunity 
by  the  police  seemed  to  make  the  appetite  of 
the  police  insatiable.  The  infamy  of  the  private 
house,  with  all  the  horrors  arising  from  the 
“ cadet  ” system,  did  not  satisfy  official  greed. 
The  tenement  houses  were  levied  upon,  and 
the  prostitutes  began  to  ply  their  trade  therein 
openly.  In  many  of  these  tenement  houses  as 
many  as  fifty  children  resided.  An  acquaint- 
ance by  the  children  with  adult  vices  was  in- 
evitable. Almost  any  child  on  the  East  Side 


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The  Social  Evil 


in  New  York  will  tell  you  what  a “ nafke  bias  ” 
is.  The  children  of  the  tenements  eagerly 
watch  the  new  sights  in  their  midst.  The  sta- 
tistics of  venereal  diseases  among  children  and 
the  many  revolting  stories  from  the  Red  Light 
district  tell  how  completely  they  learned  the 
lessons  taught  them. 

In  the  argument  before  the  Cities  Com- 
mittee at  Albany  in  April,  1901,  the  Chairman 
of  the  Committee  of  Fifteen  presented  certain 
statistics  founded  upon  an  inspection  of  125 
tenement  houses  in  which  prostitutes  were 
known  to  reside  and  to  ply  their  trade.  This 
statement  gave  rise  to  violent  attempts  at 
refutation  by  prominent  officials  both  at 
Albany  and  in  New  York  City.  An  attempt 
was  made  to  becloud  the  issue  by  statements  of 
these  officials  that  the  virtue  of  the  poor  had 
been  assailed  by  the  Committee  of  Fifteen. 
Our  then  Police  Commissioner,  whose  igno- 
rance of  conditions  would  have  been  humorous 
rather  than  pathetic  were  not  the  facts  so  seri- 
ous, stated  that  there  was  not  a disorderly 
tenement-house  below  Fourteenth  Street ; that 
he  had  lived  in  that  neighborhood  for  many 
years  and  knew  what  he  was  talking  about.  In 
spite  of  his  vigorous  denial,  complaints  were 


Appendix 


187 


received  by  the  Committee  of  Fifteen  and  evi- 
dence was  easily  collected  against  prostitutes 
in  the  street  in  which  he  himself  resided. 

In  the  work  of  the  Committee  of  Fifteen, 
evidence  was  secured  in  over  three  hundred  ^ 
separate  disorderly  apartments  in  tenement 
houses  in  the  city  of  New  York.  Over  two 
hundred  of  these  tenants  were  removed  under 
the  new  Tenement  House  Law  which  went 
into  effect  July  ist,  1901.  Authentic  reports 
reached  the  Committee  that  many  of  the  tene- 
ment-house prostitutes  were  retiring  into  pri- 
vate houses  of  prostitution. 

It  is  certain  that  the  houses  of  prostitution 
are  not  flaunting  their  wares  upon  the  streets 
in  the  manner  of  a year  ago.  Street-walking 
is  also  far  less  frequent.  A number  of  the 
more  notorious  dives  have  either  changed 
hands  or  have  closed  their  doors.  The  most 
widely  known  proprietor  of  houses  of  prosti- 
tution in  New  York  City  is  now  serving  a 
term  in  prison  upon  evidence  secured  by  the 

* It  is  impossible  with  such  a limited  staff  of  workers  as  were  em- 
ployed by  the  Committee  of  Fifteen  to  approximate  the  number  of 
prostitutes  or  houses  of  prostitution  in  New  York  City.  The  figures 
given  represent  cases  where  corroborated  evidence  was  secured  by 
the  Committee.  There  are  no  trustworthy  statistics  in  existence 
covering  the  general  question  of  the  Social  Evil  in  New  York. 


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The  Social  Evil 


Committee  of  Fifteen.  The  proprietor  of  sev- 
eral of  the  lowest  dives  is  at  the  present  time 
a fugitive  from  justice,  having  forfeited  his  bail. 
Three  police  cfficers  who  were  shown  to  have 
been  in  partnership  with  vice  have  already  been 
convicted,  and  a half  dozen  are  now  awaiting 
trial.  As  a result  of  the  whole  movement,  the 
prospect  for  a reasonable  control  of  the  Social 
Evil  in  New  York  City  is  more  favorable  at 
the  present  time  than  it  has  been  for  many 
years. 


# 


AT- 


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